Gray Hawk (Buteo plagiatus) lives in open country and forest edges across Southern New Mexico to northern Costa Rica. Its conservation status is Least Concern.
Fascinating facts about the Gray Hawk
- Lizards and small snakes make up the core of the gray hawk's menu, but it won't turn down a juicy insect, a mouse-sized rodent, or a fellow bird when the opportunity arises. It typically perches high on an open branch, then launches a rapid swoop to snatch its target, though it can also glide low over the canopy to ambush hidden prey. This flexible hunting style lets it thrive in both open savannas and dense forest edges, turning every perch into a potential kitchen.
- From December through May the pair perform courtship displays before building a 60-centimeter-wide stick nest high in a tree. The female lays on average two to three pale-blue eggs, which she incubates for 33 days while the male brings food. After hatching, the chicks grow fast and are ready to leave the nest in about six weeks, but they won't breed themselves until at least two years old.
- Once lumped with the gray-lined hawk, the gray hawk earned its own name after DNA work showed it was a distinct lineage. In 2003, researchers sequenced mitochondrial genes across the Buteo family and found enough genetic distance to treat A. nitidis plagiatus as a separate species. The American Ornithological Society later formalized the split.
- At just 46-61 cm long and weighing about 475 g, the gray hawk. Its relatively shorter wings and long tail give it a swift, agile flight. Its solid gray plumage.
- Gray hawks that breed in northern Mexico or the southwestern United States pack their bags each spring, flying north to raise their young before heading back south in mid-October. Those living farther south stay put year-round.
Sources
Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.
At a glance
RangeSouthern New Mexico to northern Costa Rica
HabitatOpen country and forest edges
DietLizards and snakes
About the Gray Hawk
As the gray hawk soars through the tropical skies, its slate-gray wings beat with a slow, deliberate rhythm, casting a silhouette of power and precision against the vibrant backdrop of its Central American habitat. With eyes that scan the landscape below like piercing jewels, this majestic raptor navigates the tangled canopy with ease, its agile form weaving through the trees with a silent, ghostly grace. In its domain, the gray hawk reigns as a master of stealth and strategy, its very presence a reminder of the wild beauty that still thrives in these lush, unspoiled landscapes.
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