General

Gray Hawk: Small tropical hawk with uniformly pale gray upperparts and fine white barring on underparts. Tail is thickly banded black and white. Sexes similar. Juvenile is boldly marked with thick brown blotches on white body.

Range and Habitat

Gray Hawk: Enters the United States in southeastern Arizona where it is restricted to tall cottonwood forests along a few streams.

Breeding and Nesting

Gray Hawk: Accompanied by loud calling, a pair builds a stick nest high in tall trees. Lays 2 to 3 white to blue eggs with brown markings. Incubated by female for 32 days. Young fledge in 42 days.

Foraging and Feeding

Gray Hawk: Mostly perches then captures lizards with fast, incredibly agile flights. Also eats small birds and rodents. Prey is captured on the ground or snagged from branches.

Vocalization

Gray Hawk: Loud whistled "kah-lee-oh."

Similar Species

Gray Hawk: Male light morph Hook-billed Kite has much larger bill. Juvenile resembles juvenile Broad-winged Hawk but has much bolder face pattern and longer tail.