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Birds of Zihuatanejo

CLASS AVES

-Animals (Kingdom Animalia)

-Chordates (Phylum Chordata)

-Vertebrates (Subphylum Vertebrata)

-Birds (Class Aves)

-Hawks, Eagles, Kites, and Allies (Order Accipitriformes)

-Hawks, Eagles, and Kites (Family Accipitridae)

-Buteos (Genus Buteo)

-Zone-tailed Hawk (Buteo albonotatus)


This large hawk is mostly black except for barred flight feathers, black-and-white banded tail. Eye-rings are gray. Bill and llegs are yellow. Circles like a turkey vulture. Eats small rodents, birds. It soars and glides on thermals with wings lifted slightly above back, and tilts from side to side. They can spot and capture prey from up to 105 meters above the ground.

Zone-tailed Hawk

Buteo albonotatus

Diet

  • Primarily small mammals such as rodents, squirrels, rabbits, and bats.

  • Also feeds on birds, lizards, snakes, frogs, and large insects.

  • Hunts by soaring over open areas or gliding low through forests, often mimicking the flight of vultures to approach prey unnoticed.

Range

  • Found from the southwestern United States south through Mexico, Central America, and into northern Argentina.

  • Widespread in Mexico, including the Zihuatanejo region and the Sierra Madre del Sur.

  • Inhabits tropical dry forests, pine-oak woodlands, canyons, riparian forests, foothills, and open woodland.

  • A year-round resident in most of Mexico, although northern populations may migrate south during winter.

Male / Female

  • Male: Blackish plumage with distinctive white bands across the tail; slightly smaller and lighter than the female.

  • Female: Nearly identical in appearance but noticeably larger and heavier, with a more robust build.

  • Sexes cannot be reliably distinguished in the field except by size when seen together.

Size

  • Length: 46–56 cm (18–22 in)

  • Wingspan: 117–140 cm (46–55 in)

  • Weight:

    • Male: 500–800 g

    • Female: 700–1,100 g

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