Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni)

Identification & Behavior: ~52.5 cm (20.6 in). The Swainson’s Hawk has a variable plumage. The light morphs appear to be the more common plumage. In all morphs, the flight feathers are dark and contrast with the white, rufous, brown, or gray wing lining and coverts. The juvenile is gray-brown with pale underparts with dark breast and dusky spotted belly. The long and pointy wings set the Swainson’s Hawk from other hawks it is likely to overlap in Peru.

Status: The Swainson’s Hawk breeds in North America and winters largely in Argentina. There is no particular location in Peru where this hawk occurs and is consistently reported. All reports in Peru are scattered. Satellite tracking of migrating birds suggests that they regularly fly in flocks over extreme northeast Peru. It also occurs in Co, Ec, Br, and Bo.

Name in Spanish: Aguilucho de Swainson.

Sub-species: Swainson’s Hawk (Buteo swainsoni), Bonaparte 1838.

Meaning of Name: Buteo: Gr. vulture, buzzard. swainsoni: tribute to the English naturalist, artist, and species collector, William Swainson (1789-1855).

See more of the Family Accipitridae