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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)

-Black Hawks and Allies (Genus Buteogallus)

-Common Black Hawk (Buteogallus anthracinus)


A bulky bird, with very broad wings, short tail, and long legs, it usually hunts low along streams, even wading in the water at times, catching fish, frogs, and other small creatures. Diet Includes fish, frogs, lizards. Feeds on a wide variety of small creatures, but especially those found in water. In United States, eats mostly fish, frogs, tadpoles, and lizards, plus some small birds, snakes, rodents, insects. In tropics, diet may include many crayfish, crabs, large insects.

Common Black Hawk

Buteogallus anthracinus

Diet

  • Primarily crabs, crayfish, frogs, fish, snakes, lizards, aquatic insects, and other small aquatic animals.

  • Also feeds on small mammals, birds, and carrion when available.

  • Hunts by watching from low perches or walking along shorelines, riverbanks, and mudflats before quickly seizing prey.

Range

  • Found from the southwestern United States south through Mexico, Central America, and much of South America to Peru and northern Argentina.

  • Widespread in Mexico, including the Zihuatanejo region, where it is a year-round resident.

  • Inhabits mangroves, estuaries, rivers, marshes, lagoons, swamps, and wooded wetlands, usually close to water.

  • Most common in lowland coastal habitats but also occurs along inland rivers.

Male / Female

  • Male: Uniform blackish plumage with a broad white band across the tail and a black tip; yellow legs and cere; slightly smaller than the female.

  • Female: Nearly identical in appearance but larger and heavier.

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

Size

  • Length: 50–56 cm (20–22 in)

  • Wingspan: 110–125 cm (43–49 in)

  • Weight:

    • Male: 700–900 g

    • Female: 850–1,100 g

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