- Spizaetus ornatus
Identification
23 - 26 inches, a wingspan of 3 - 4 feet, and weighs 2 - 3 1/2 pounds. Prominent pointed crest, raised when excited, a black bill, broad wings and a long rounded tail, black upperparts and crown, bright chestnut sides to neck and breast, black-edged white throat and central breast. The rest of the underparts and feathered legs are white barred with black, and the tail has broad black bars. The underwings are white, with flight feathers barred grey; as such, the adult is a rather pale bird when seen from below. Wings are narrower near the body and very broad the rest of the way.
Sexes are similar, but young birds are have a white head, crest and underparts, with brown upperparts, and barring only on the flanks and legs.
Distribution
Central America (from southern Mexico) and subtropical and tropical South America including Trinidad.
Taxonomy
Two subspecies are recognized,
Adult in flight
Photo by lior kislev
Manu, Peru, January 2010
Habitat
Humid forests from lowland swamp forests to higher elevation primary forests.
Behaviour
Its diet includes medium-sized birds, mammals, and sometimes reptiles.
Display flight is rarely seen but includes fast vertical dives as well as U shaped flight where the bird (probably the male?) starts out going down vertically on outstretched wings, gradually bending the path to the bottom of a U and ending up going vertically up, still on outstretched wings. During display, it will call in series of single whistles[2]. Also described is a display where the male and female in flight locks talons with each other[3].
They build a large stick nest on a branch of a tall tree. 1 egg is laid and incubated for 44 - 48 days. The young hawk-eagle will fledge from 9 1/2 - 13 weeks after hatching, but will stay near the nest and be fed by the parents for up to 1 year after fledging. The female Ornate Hawk-Eagle does most of the feeding of the chick while it is in the nest. The male will bring food to within a few hundred feet of the nest and give the food to the female, but usually does not feed the young.
References
- Clements, James F. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2007. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801445019
- Birdforum member njlarsen personal observations
- Richard ffrench. 1991. A guide to the Birds of Trinidad and Tobago. Comstock/Cornell Paperbacks. ISBN 0-8014-9792-2
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Ornate Hawk-Eagle. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 19 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Ornate_Hawk-Eagle
