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 Short-tailed Hawk (Buteo brachyurus)

Short-tailed Hawk | Buteo brachyurus photo
Male juvenile black phase Short-Tailed Hawk, Monterrey, Mexico.
Photograph by Amendezg. Some rights reserved.  (view image details)








SHORT-TAILED HAWK FACTS
Description
The Short-tailed Hawk is a small buzzard with broad rounded wings, and broad tail. There are two color morphs - light and dark. The light morph is dark brown above with white face and white underside. The tail and flight feathers are gray with dark bars. The tail has abroad bar near the tip. Immatures are similar to adults, but have streaked face. The dark morph is black-brown with gray barred tail and flight feathers. The black form is the dominant form in the Florida population.

Size
length 40 cm, wingspan 90cm

Environment
woodland, woodland edges, often near water.

Food
The Short-tailed Hawk mainly birds, including warblers, blackbirds and meadowlarks. Also eats some rodents, frogs, lizards, insects.

Breeding
Builds a large stick nest in a tree. Lays one to three white eggs with dark spots and blotches.

Range
The Short-tailed Hawk is found in Mexico, Central America, and South America as far as south eastern Brazil and northern Argentina. There is an isolated population in Florida in the United States.

Classification
Class:Aves
Order:Falconiformes
Family:Accipitridae
Genus:Buteo
Species:brachyurus
Common Name:Short-tailed Hawk


Relatives in same Genus
  White-tailed Hawk (B. albicaudatus)
  Red-tailed Hawk (B. jamaicensis)
  Rough-legged Hawk (B. lagopus)
  Red-shouldered Hawk (B. lineatus)
  Gray Hawk (B. nitidus)
  Ferruginous Hawk (B. regalis)
  Swainson's Hawk (B. swainsoni)







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