The white hawk (''Pseudastur albicollis'') is a
bird of prey
Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predators h ...
breeding in the
tropical New World of the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Accipitridae
The Accipitridae is one of the three families within the order Accipitriformes, and is a family of small to large birds with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects to medium-s ...
. Though it is commonly placed in the
subfamily
In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...
Buteoninae
The Buteoninae are a subfamily of birds of prey which consists of medium to large, broad-winged species.
They have large, powerful, hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, and powerful talons. They also have extremely keen e ...
, the validity of this group is doubtful and currently under review.
Description
![Leucopternis albicollis -Escuintla -Guatemala-8a](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Leucopternis_albicollis_-Escuintla_-Guatemala-8a.jpg)
The adult white hawk ranges from 46–56 cm (18–22 in) long with very broad wings and has a white head, body and underwings. The upper wings are black, and the very short tail is black with a broad white band. The bill is black and the legs are yellow.
The sexes are similar, but females are larger and heavier—840 g (1.85 lb) compared to the male's 650 g (1.43 lb). Immature birds have extensive black spotting on the upperparts and dark-streaked whitish underparts.
The call of the white hawk is a plaintive ''kerwee''.
Subspecies
There are four
subspecies
In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
:
* ''Pseudastur albicollis ghiesbreghti'' – Southern
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
to
Nicaragua
Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. Managua is the cou ...
:Entirely white, except for black markings on the outer primaries, and a black sub-terminal tail bar. The eyes are yellow.
* ''Pseudastur albicollis costaricensis'' –
Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
to
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
and
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
.
:Similar to ''ghiesbreghti'' but with more distinct black markings on the wings and tail. The eyes are brown.
* ''Pseudastur albicollis williaminae'' – Locally in north-western
Colombia
Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
and western
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
.
:Wing feathers are more heavily marked with black, and it has black streaks on the crown and collar. The tail band is broader and the eyes are brown.
* ''Pseudastur albicollis albicollis'' – Northern Colombia and central Venezuela to Brazil.
:Smaller than the northern forms and the wings are mostly black, with white markings. The black tail band extends to the base of the tail and the eyes are brown.
All subspecies look mainly white from below. The identity of the birds discovered in 2000/2001 in the
Serranía de las Quinchas
The Serranía de las Quinchas is an 860 km2 area of tropical rainforest and cloud forest in Colombia. It lies in the mid Magdalena River Valley in the foothills of the Cordillera Oriental of the Colombian Andes. It ranges in altitude from ...
of central Colombia is unclear.
Systematics
The white hawk was described by
John Latham: in English (1787) as the "white-necked falcon", and in Latin (1790) as ''Falco albicollis'', with locality "Cayenne". Around 1850,
Edward Blyth
Edward Blyth (23 December 1810 – 27 December 1873) was an English zoologist who worked for most of his life in India as a curator of zoology at the museum of the Asiatic Society of India in Calcutta.
Blyth was born in London in 1810. In 1841 ...
created the genus ''Pseudaster'', with "''Falco pæcilonotus'' Cuvier" as the type and "''F.skotopterus'' Pr. Max." as a synonym. In his ''Genera of Birds'', Gray treats them both as ''
Buteo
''Buteo'' is a genus of medium to fairly large, wide-ranging raptors with a robust body and broad wings. In the Old World, members of this genus are called "buzzards", but "hawk" is used in the New World (Etymology: ''Buteo'' is the Latin name o ...
''s, listing ''B. albicollis'' in the main text and ''B. pæcilonotus'' in the index.
Peters Peters may refer to:
People
* Peters (surname)
* Peters Band, a First Nations band in British Columbia, Canada
Places United States
* Peters, California, a census-designated place
* Peters, Florida, a town
* Peters Township, Kingman County, Kan ...
' influential 1931 checklist placed the white hawk in Kaup's genus ''
Leucopternis
''Leucopternis'' is a Neotropical genus of birds of prey in the family Accipitridae. They are associated with tropical forest, and are uncommon or rare. Their plumage is largely black or gray above and white below, and they have distinctive orang ...
'', listing five subspecies: ''L. albicollis albicollis'', ''L. a. ghiesbrechti'', ''L. a. costaricensis'', ''L. a. occidentalis'', and ''L. a. polionota''. During the 20th century, some authors treated the
grey-backed hawk
The grey-backed hawk (''Pseudastur occidentalis'') is an Endangered species (IUCN status), Endangered species of bird of prey in subfamily Accipitrinae, the "true" hawks, of family Accipitridae. It is found in Ecuador and far northern Peru.Rems ...
''occidentalis'' as a subspecies of ''L. albicollis'', whilst others recognized it as a separate species.
[Magnier & Schulenberg (2013), sectio]
Systematics
/ref>
In the first decade of the 2000s ''Leucopternis'' was found to be polyphyletic, and in 2012 the American Ornithologists' Union separated the white hawk and its relatives under the old name ''Pseudaster''.
DNA analysis found that the subspecies ''P. a. albicollis'' is sister to ''P. a. polionotus'', and the trans-Andean ''P. a. ghiesbreghti'' and ''P. a. costaricensis'' are more closely related to ''P. occidentalis'' than they are to ''P. a. albicollis''.
Distribution and ecology
This is a bird of lowland forest
A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
and other woodlands. It ranges from southern Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
through Central
Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object.
Central may also refer to:
Directions and generalised locations
* Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...
and South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
to Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal
, national_motto = "Fi ...
, Bolivia
, image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg
, flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center
, flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...
and Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
. It also breeds on Trinidad
Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...
. The white hawk's range in central South America is the entire Amazon basin
The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...
, from the Andes
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
on the west to the Guianas
The Guianas, sometimes called by the Spanish loan-word ''Guayanas'' (''Las Guayanas''), is a region in north-eastern South America which includes the following three territories:
* French Guiana, an overseas department and region of France
* ...
on the Atlantic
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
on the northeast, and to the transition lands to the south. A widespread species, it is usually not common, but the IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
considers it not to be globally threatened due to the large extent of its range.
The white hawk feeds mainly on reptile
Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...
s (such as lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...
s and snake
Snakes are elongated, Limbless vertebrate, limbless, carnivore, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other Squamata, squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping Scale (zoology), scales. Ma ...
s, including the eastern coral snake
''Micrurus fulvius'', commonly known as the eastern coral snake, Behler John L.; King, F. Wayne (1979). ''The Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Reptiles and Amphibians''. New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 743 pp., 657 color plates. LCCCN 7 ...
)[https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/Pseudastur_albicollis%20-%20White%20Hawk.pdf ] with some insect
Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...
s (such as beetle
Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
s and grasshopper
Grasshoppers are a group of insects belonging to the suborder Caelifera. They are among what is possibly the most ancient living group of chewing herbivorous insects, dating back to the early Triassic around 250 million years ago.
Grasshopp ...
s), crab
Crabs are decapod crustaceans of the infraorder Brachyura, which typically have a very short projecting "tail" (abdomen) ( el, βραχύς , translit=brachys = short, / = tail), usually hidden entirely under the thorax. They live in all the ...
s, amphibian
Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...
s and mammal
Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
s (including rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' ( pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...
s, squirrel
Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...
s, small opossum
Opossums () are members of the marsupial order Didelphimorphia () endemic to the Americas. The largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, it comprises 93 species in 18 genera. Opossums originated in South America and entered North ...
s and bat
Bats are mammals of the order Chiroptera.''cheir'', "hand" and πτερόν''pteron'', "wing". With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most bi ...
s), caught in a sortie from a perch. Researchers have documented the white hawk feeding on a number of bird species including the keel-billed toucan
The keel-billed toucan (''Ramphastos sulfuratus''), also known as sulfur-breasted toucan or rainbow-billed toucan, is a colorful Latin American member of the toucan family. It is the national bird of Belize. The species is found in tropical jungl ...
, the mottled owl
The mottled owl (''Strix virgata'') is a medium-sized owl found in Central and South America from Mexico to Brazil and Argentina. The head and back are mottled brown and the underparts whitish, with vertical bars on the chest and throat. The eyes ...
, the white-breasted wood wren and the great tinamou
The great tinamou (''Tinamus major'') is a species of tinamou ground bird native to Central and South America. There are several subspecies, mostly differentiated by their coloration.
Taxonomy
The great tinamou was described and illustrated in 1 ...
. They may feed on young and weak birds, as well. Though rare, there is some evidence that this hawk may occasionally feed on fish
Fish are aquatic, craniate, gill-bearing animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish as well as various extinct related groups. Approximately 95% of li ...
. One researcher in Suriname
Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north ...
found remains of a fish in a white hawk's stomach. It associates with foraging groups of tufted capuchin
The tufted capuchin (''Sapajus apella''), also known as brown capuchin, black-capped capuchin, or pin monkey is a New World primate from South America and the Caribbean islands of Trinidad and Margarita. As traditionally defined, it is one of th ...
monkeys (''Cebus apella'') and South American coati
The South American coati (''Nasua nasua''), also known as the ring-tailed coati, is a coati species and a member of the raccoon family ( Procyonidae), found in the tropical and subtropical parts of South America. An adult generally weighs from ...
s (''Nasua nasua'') to snatch prey startled by these animals. This species is often seen soaring, and has a spectacular aerial courtship display.
It builds a large stick platform nest in a tree and usually lays one dark-blotched blue-white egg
An egg is an organic vessel grown by an animal to carry a possibly fertilized egg cell (a zygote) and to incubate from it an embryo within the egg until the embryo has become an animal fetus that can survive on its own, at which point the a ...
. An attended nest was observed in Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
in mid-August.[Cisneros-Heredia (2006)]
Footnotes
References
*
* Cisneros-Heredia, Diego F. (2006): Notes on breeding, behaviour and distribution of some birds in Ecuador. '' Bull. B.O.C.'' 126(2): 153–164
PDF fulltext
* de Mello Beisiegel, Beatriz (2007): Foraging Association between Coatis (''Nasua nasua'') and Birds of the Atlantic Forest, Brazil. ''Biotropica'' 39(2): 283–285. (HTML abstract)
* ffrench, Richard; O'Neill, John Patton & Eckelberry, Don R. (1991): ''A guide to the birds of Trinidad and Tobago'' (2nd edition). Comstock Publishing, Ithaca, N.Y..
* Hilty, Steven L. (2003): ''Birds of Venezuela''. Christopher Helm
Christopher Alexander Roger Helm (born Dundee, 1 February 1937 – 20 January 2007) was a Scottish book publisher, notably of ornithology related titles, including the ''Helm Identification Guides''.
Born in Dundee, he was raised in Forfar, w ...
, London.
* Latham, John (1787): ''Supplement to the General Synopsis of Birds''. London; Leigh & Sotheby
* Latham, John (1790): ''Index ornithologicus, sive, Systema ornithologiae''. London; Leigh & Sotheby.
* Laverde-R., Oscar; Stiles, F. Gary & Múnera-R., Claudia (2005): Nuevos registros e inventario de la avifauna de la Serranía de las Quinchas, un área importante para la conservación de las aves (AICA) en Colombia ew records and updated inventory of the avifauna of the Serranía de las Quinchas, an important bird area (IBA) in Colombia ''Caldasia'' 27(2): 247-265 panish with English abstractbr>PDF fulltext
* Magnier, B. and T. S. Schulenberg (2013). White Hawk (''Pseudastur albicollis''), version 1.0. In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA
DOI 10.2173/nb.whihaw1.01
* Peters, James Lee (1931): Check-list of birds of the world, volume 1
External links
Hawk Conservancy Trust
White hawk photo
Article
Photo-High Res
Article
smithsonian, national museum of natural history
(for Belize
Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wate ...
, Honduras
Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
Stamp-photo
VIREO
* ttp://ibc.lynxeds.com/species/white-hawk-leucopternis-albicollis White hawk videoson the Internet Bird Collection
{{Taxonbar, from=Q968906
white hawk
The white hawk (''Pseudastur albicollis'') is a bird of prey breeding in the tropical New World of the family Accipitridae. Though it is commonly placed in the subfamily Buteoninae, the validity of this group is doubtful and currently under re ...
Birds of Central America
Birds of Colombia
Birds of Venezuela
Birds of Trinidad and Tobago
Birds of the Guianas
Birds of the Amazon Basin
white hawk
The white hawk (''Pseudastur albicollis'') is a bird of prey breeding in the tropical New World of the family Accipitridae. Though it is commonly placed in the subfamily Buteoninae, the validity of this group is doubtful and currently under re ...
white hawk
The white hawk (''Pseudastur albicollis'') is a bird of prey breeding in the tropical New World of the family Accipitridae. Though it is commonly placed in the subfamily Buteoninae, the validity of this group is doubtful and currently under re ...