Zone-tailed hawk

COMMON NAME: Zone-tailed hawk

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Buteo albonotatus

IDENTIFYING CHARACTERISTICS
The zone-tailed hawk is a dark hawk (black with brown cast) lacking the light morphology commonly found in many buteo species. The tail has two or three light bands that are white when viewed from below. The under-wing is two-toned with black wing tips. The legs and beak of the zone-tailed hawk are yellow. The female is slightly larger than the males of this species. The immature hawk is a little darker with white spots around head and on under parts. The immature hawk has many narrow blackish bands on tail.

RANGE
The zone-tailed hawk is found from the southwestern United States to Central and South America.

HABITAT
Riparian forest and woodland, desert uplands, and mixed conifer forests

NESTING
The zone-tailed hawk engages in spectacular courtship displays. During these displays, aerial loops, dives, and rolls are performed.

Female zone-tailed hawks lay one or two eggs per clutch. In the southwestern United States, these hawks are known to breed only once, but not much is known about their breeding habits in South America except that year-round residents breed only once.

Young are semi-altricial at hatching, with grey down. The female parent incubates while the male parent collects food for the female and young. Growth is gradual to slow during first 7 days; from days 7-21, growth is rapid. Cases of siblicide have been documented.

Male and female hawks are very aggressive when guarding the nest. They are aggressively territorial when nestlings are present.

FEEDING HABITS
The diet of the zone-tailed hawk includes many small vertebrates (birds, especially passerines; mammals, especially ground squirrels and chipmunks; amphibians and reptiles, particularly the common collared lizard and crevice spiny lizard; rarely fish). Prey that is exposed and becomes conditioned to the harmless presence of turkey vultures is likely prey of the zone-tailed hawk (Willis 1963, Zimmerman 1976, Synder and Synder 1991).

CONSERVATION STATUS
Not federally threatened or endangered. Threatened in Texas (Johnson et al 2000).

Information courtesy of the University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Diversity Web

Other Web Resources

University of Michigan Museum of Zoology Diversity Web