- Spizaetus ornatus
Identification
Photo taken along Amazon River in Peru in July 2004
The Ornate Hawk-Eagle has a body length of 23 - 26 inches, a wingspan of 3 - 4 feet, and weighs 2 - 3 1/2 pounds. It has a prominent pointed crest, raised when excited, a black bill, broad wings and a long rounded tail.
The typical adult has blackish upperparts and crown, bright chestnut sides to the neck and breast and a 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 barred flight feathers.
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.
The male’s flight display is a dive with folded wings, and a climb, sometimes completing a loop. The pair will touch talons in flight as the female rolls on her back. The call is a high-pitched whee-oo whee-oo pitched whee-oo.
Distribution
Subtropical and tropical Central and South America.
Taxonomy
Habitat
This hawk-eagle can be found in humid forests from lowland swamp forests to higher elevation primary forests.
Behaviour
This accipiter-like eagle hunts medium-sized birds, mammals, and sometimes reptiles. Ornate Hawk-Eagles usually hunt from a perch within the forest or at a forest edge. The prey is taken on the ground, snatched from a tree branch, or is taken in flight. Stealth and ambush are important aspects of this powerful raptor's hunting style. Ornate Hawk-Eagles build a large stick nest on a branch of a tall tree. The female lays 1 egg that is 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. When the chick is half-grown and able to defend itself, both parents hunt and provide for the chick. After the young hawk-eagle has fledged, the male appears to play the main role in providing for the young bird.
