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.
● 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.