Zone-tailed Hawk (Buteo albonotatus)

Identification & Behavior: ~48.5 cm (19 in). The adult Zone-tailed Hawk is black with yellow cere and legs. The tail is black with a median broad gray band. The juvenile is similar to the adult but has white spots on the underparts and finely barred tail. It is similar to the dark morph of Short-tailed Hawk but is distinguished by its long and narrow wings, long tail with a median gray band, and a slender appearance. Also, see dark morphs of the Variable Hawk.              

Status: The Zone-tailed Hawk is rare in Amazonia, the Marañon Valley, the semideciduous forest of extreme northwest Peru, and the humid foothill of the west slope of the Andes. It is known to range at elevations of up to 2600 m. in the Andes. It also occurs in Co, Ec, Br, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Aguilucho Negro.

Sub-species: Zone-tailed Hawk (Buteo albonotatus), Kaup 1847.

Meaning of Name: Buteo: Gr. vulture, buzzard. albonotatus: L. albus= white and enotatus, notare= marked with brands.

See more of the Family Accipitridae