Visual Search | Wizard | Browse

Bird name:

White-tailed Hawk

Buteo albicaudatus

Order

FALCONIFORMES

Family

Kites, Eagles and Hawks (Accipitridae)

Code 4

WTHA

Code 6

BUTALC

ITIS

175369

Breeding Location:

Open landscapes

Breeding Type:

Monogamous

Breeding Population:

Yes but uncommon

Egg Color:

White, sometimes spotted with brown

Number of Eggs:

1 - 4

Incubation Days:

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Twigs, grass, plant down.

Migration:

Nonmigratory

RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS

General

White-tailed Hawk: Large hawk with dark gray upperparts and head, distinct brown wash on shoulders and back, and white rump. Breast is white; belly and undertail are white with inconspicuous, fine bars. Wings are dark gray above and paler below. Tail is white with broad black band near tip. Sexes are similar. Juvenile is dark overall with pale gray tail. Wings are held in a V when soaring.

Range and Habitat

White-tailed Hawk: Ranges from south Texas to central Argentina; also occurs on some southern Caribbean islands. Preferred habitats include open, semi-open or thinly forested country.

Breeding and Nesting

White-tailed Hawk: One to four white eggs, sometimes with brown spots, are laid in large nest made of freshly broken twigs mixed with bunches of dry grass and lined with finer plant material. Nest is usually 5 to 15 feet above ground. Both parents incubate the eggs for about 31 days. Young fly at 54 to 57 days old.

Foraging and Feeding

White-tailed Hawk: Feeds on rabbits, cotton rats, snakes, lizards, frogs, grasshoppers, cicadas, and beetles, and occasionally quail or other birds.

Vocalization

White-tailed Hawk: High-pitched cackling, a repeated "ke."

Similar Species

White-tailed Hawk: Swainson’s Hawk has dark barred tail, breast band, and rounded wings.

Percevia^® Registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

The Percevia field guides, database and search protocol patent pending.

The best bird guide and bird watching search engine to identify birds!

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.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Belly

The ventral part of the bird, or the area between the flanks on each side and the crissum and breast. Flight muscles are located between the belly and the breast.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Rump

The area between the uppertail coverts and the back of the bird.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America