Zone-tailed Hawk

Buteo albonotatus

Order FALCONIFORMES - Family ACCIPITRIDAE - Subfamily Accipitrinae

Menu

1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Behavior
9. Reproduction
10. Conservation Status
11. Other Names

A dark, tropical hawk, the Zone-tailed Hawk just reaches the southwestern United States in Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas.

Cool Facts

• The Zone-tailed Hawk is aggressive in the defense of its nesting territory, attacking animals as large as Golden Eagles, Red-tailed Hawks, and humans.

• The Zone-tailed Hawk looks very similar in flight to Turkey Vultures, and it often flies with them. It has been suggested that the hawk is a mimic of the vulture and uses its similarity to sneak up on prey that would not hide from vultures.

Description

• Size: 45-56 cm (18-22 in)
• Wingspan: 119-140 cm (47-55 in)
• Weight: 119-140 g (4.2-4.94 ounces)

Medium-sized to large hawk. Slaty black overall. Tail with two or three light bands. Underwings two-toned, with dark linings and paler flight feathers. Legs and skin on face yellow. Wings held up in slight V when soaring.

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike, female slightly larger.

Immature

Juvenile slightly darker and more brownish than adult; often with white spotting on underparts and around head; tail with many narrow, blackish bands.

Similar Species

• Turkey Vulture is very similar in flight, but lacks bands on tail and wing feathers, and has bare red head.
• Common Black-Hawk much more robust, with a shorter tail with one large white band.

Sound

Call a high, harsh scream.

»listen to songs of this species

Range

Summer Range

Breeds from Arizona, New Mexico, and western Texas southward to central South America.

Winter Range

Winters from southern Mexico southward.

Habitat

Arid, semi-open country, especially open deciduous or pine-oak woodland, often nesting in tall trees along streams.

Food

Birds, mammals, and lizards.

Behavior

Courtship

The Zone-tailed Hawk engages in spectacular courtship displays, performing aerial loops, dives, and rolls, with both male and female diving from heights of about 300-500 m (1,000-1,600 ft).

Reproduction

Clutch Size

Range: 1-3.

Condition at Hatching

Helpless and covered in down.

Conservation Status

Increasing in the United States.

Other Names

Buse à queue barrée (Spanish)
Aguililla aura (English)

Sources used to construct this page:

Johnson, R. R., R. L. Glinski, and S. W. Matteson. 2000. Zone-tailed Hawk (Buteo albonotatus). In The Birds of North America, No. 529 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.