Quantcast

Zone-tailed Hawk

Buteo albonotatusOrder: FALCONIFORMESFamily: Kites, Eagles and Hawks (Accipitridae)

Zone-tailed Hawk Portrait
  Copyright 2002-2007 Whatbird.com
Click here for licensing information Splitbar

General

Zone-tailed Hawk: Large hawk, mostly black except for barred flight feathers and black-and-white banded tail. Eye-rings are gray. Bill and legs are yellow. Sexes are similar. Juvenile is brown-black with fine white spots around head and breast, and black-barred, brown tail.

Range and Habitat

Zone-tailed Hawk: Breeds from northern South America to Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico, where it is partially migratory. Strays reported from California and Nevada. Preferred habitats include deep, rough, and rocky wooded canyons and tree-lined rivers near mountains, valleys, or other "rugged" areas; hunts in open spaces such as desert grasslands or sparse forests.

Listen to Call

Voice Text

No data available.

Interesting Facts

  • The Zone-tailed Hawk is believed to mimic the V-shaped wing pattern of Turkey Vultures, taking advantage of prey that is desensitized to the presence of vultures.
  • They can spot and capture prey from up to 105 meters above the ground.
  • They engage in spectacular courtship displays, performing aerial loops, dives, and rolls. at heights of up to 500 meters.
  • A group of hawks has many collective nouns, including a "boil", "knot", "spiraling", "stream", and "tower" of hawks.


Author

Gary Owen Dick

Splitbar
Range Map for Zone-tailed Hawk
.
Bird database and its related content, illustrations and media is Copyright © 2002 - 2007  Whatbird.com
All rights reserved. No part of this web site may be reproduced without written permission from Mitch Waite Group.
 Privacy Policy.
Percevia® Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.
Family
Species Buteo albonotatus
Length18 - 21 Inches
Wingspan50 Inches

Zone-tailed Hawk

Zone-tailed Hawk: Large hawk, mostly black except for barred flight feathers, black-and-white banded tail. Eye-rings are gray. Bill, legs are yellow. Circles like a turkey vulture. Eats small rodents, birds. Soars and glides on thermals with wings lifted slightly above back, tilts from side to side.

● Song: No data available.

● Foraging & Feeding: Zone-tailed Hawk: Feeds primarily on quail, small birds, lizards, small fish, and frogs; also eats large insects and small mammals. Soars and glides in circles when searching for food.

● Breeding & nesting: Zone-tailed Hawk: One to three white to pale blue eggs, often spotted with brown, are laid in a large, loose nest made of sticks built in a large tree, 25 to 100 feet above the ground. Eggs are incubated primarily by the female for 35 days. Young fly in 6 to 7 weeks.

● Similar species: Zone-tailed Hawk: Turkey Vulture lacks tail bands and has no bars on flight feathers.

Flight Pattern

Soars on thermals., Flapping and gliding flight.
Zone-tailed Hawk Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Zone-tailed Hawk: Breeds from northern South America to Arizona, Texas, and New Mexico, where it is partially migratory. Strays reported from California and Nevada. Preferred habitats include deep, rough, and rocky wooded canyons and tree-lined rivers near mountains, valleys, or other "rugged" areas; hunts in open spaces such as desert grasslands or sparse forests.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationYes but uncommon
MigrationMigratory
Weight22.4 Ounces