Buteo brachyurus
The Short-tailed Hawk (Buteo brachyurus) is a strikingly agile raptor, truly a master of the air. Measuring approximately 39-44 cm (15-17 inches) in length with a wingspan of 90-107 cm (35-42 inches) and weighing 400-550 grams (14-19 oz), it presents in two distinct color morphs: a common light morph with dark upperparts and brilliant white underparts, and a rarer dark morph uniformly sooty brown or black. Both morphs share a unique bicolored underwing pattern—dark primaries contrasting with ...
This hawk typically inhabits diverse forested landscapes, including mature evergreen or mixed deciduous forests, often near open wetlands, fields, or coastal mangroves, from sea level up to 3,000 meters in mountainous regions.
The Short-tailed Hawk primarily preys on small to medium-sized birds, often catching them in mid-flight, but will also take small mammals, reptiles, and large insects. Its main foraging method is aerial pursuit, often from a high-altitude perch or during soaring flight.
Short-tailed Hawks are diurnal hunters, frequently observed soaring at great heights, often in large circles, during the day, before roosting solitarily in dense tree cover at night. Their primary foraging strategy involves patient aerial surveillance, often hovering or performing a 'kestrel-like...
The Short-tailed Hawk has an extensive Neotropical distribution, ranging from the extreme southeastern United States (primarily central and southern Florida) through Mexico, Central America, and most of South America east of the Andes, extending south to northern Argentina. In North America, the ...
Least Concern
- The Short-tailed Hawk is one of the most acrobatic of North American raptors, regularly catching birds mid-air with remarkable agility. - It is one of the few raptors that exhibits two distinct color morphs (light and dark) throughout its range, which can make identification challenging for nov...