Diet

• Primarily insects, including grasshoppers, beetles, crickets, cicadas, and large caterpillars.

• Also feeds on lizards, frogs, snakes, small birds, rodents, bats, and occasionally crabs and other invertebrates.

• Hunts from exposed perches such as fence posts, utility poles, and tree branches, making short flights to seize prey on the ground or in vegetation.

Range

• Found from northeastern Mexico through Central America, the Caribbean, and much of South America to northern Argentina.

• In Mexico, it occurs mainly along the Pacific and Gulf lowlands, including the Zihuatanejo region, where it is a common year-round resident.

• Inhabits tropical dry forests, forest edges, second-growth woodland, gallery forests, savannas, agricultural land, parks, and suburban areas, generally from sea level to about 2,000 m.

Male / Female

• Male: Gray head, finely barred rufous underparts, brown upperparts, bright yellow cere and legs, and a boldly black-and-white banded tail. Slightly smaller than the female.

• Female: Very similar in plumage but generally larger and heavier.

• Juveniles: Brown above with heavily streaked buff underparts and a less distinctly banded tail.

• Sexes cannot be reliably distinguished in the field except by subtle size differences.

Size

• Length: 31–41 cm (12.2–16.1 in)

• Wingspan: 58–79 cm (23–31 in)

• Weight: 250–420 g (8.8–14.8 oz)