The ornate hawk-eagle (''Spizaetus ornatus'') is a fairly large

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 predat ...

from the

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

Americas The Americas, which are sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America, North and South America. The Americas make up most of the land in Earth's Western Hemisphere and comprise the New World. ...

. Formerly, some authorities referred to this species as the crested hawk-eagle, a name that may cause some confusion as it is more commonly used for an Asian eagle species.Friedmann H. (1935). ''A new race of the Crested Hawk-eagle Spizaetus ornatus''. Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences, 25 (10): 450-451. Like all

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

s, it is in the family

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 ...

. This species has a feathered tarsus that marks it as a member of the ''

Aquilinae The Aquilinae are a subfamily of eagles of the family Accipitridae. The general common name used for members of this subfamily is "booted eagle", although this is also the common name of a member of the subfamily.Lerner, H., Christidis, L., Gamau ...

'' or booted eagle subfamily.Lerner, H., Christidis, L., Gamauf, A., Griffiths, C., Haring, E., Huddleston, C.J., Kabra, S., Kocum, A., Krosby, M., Kvaloy, K., Mindell, D., Rasmussen, P., Rov, N., Wadleigh, R., Wink, M. & Gjershaug, J.O. (2017). ''Phylogeny and new taxonomy of the Booted Eagles (Accipitriformes: Aquilinae)''. Zootaxa, 4216(4), 301-320. This

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriat ...

is notable for the vivid colors and bold markings of adults, which differ considerably from the far more whitish plumage of the juvenile bird.Clark, W. S., & Schmitt, N. J. (2017). ''Raptors of Mexico and Central America''. Princeton University Press. The ornate hawk-eagle ranges from central

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

south through much of

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

and in a somewhat spotty but broad overall range into

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 sou ...

, including in the west apart 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 ...

and broadly 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 ...

side especially

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 ...

down to as far as

Southeast Brazil The Southeast Region of Brazil ( pt, Região Sudeste do Brasil; ) is composed of the states of Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro (state), Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo State, São Paulo. It is the richest region of the country, responsi ...

and northern

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...

. This species is found largely in

primary forests An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological featu ...

with tall trees, although can be found in many forest types. The ornate hawk-eagle female lays almost always a single egg and the species has a fairly prolonged breeding cycle like many tropical raptors, especially due to a lengthy post-fledging stage on which juveniles are dependent on their parents.Phillips, R. A., & Hatten, C. J. (2013). ''Nest observations on the Ornate Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus ornatus) in Belize, Central America''. Boletin SAO, 22. It is a diversified and exceptionally powerful predator which takes a range of prey, usually various medium-to-large-sized

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s and small-to-medium-sized

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 ...

s as well as occasional

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 rhynchocephalia ...

s.Klein, B. C., Harper, L. H., Bierregaard, R. O., & Powell, G. V. (1988). ''The nesting and feeding behavior of the ornate hawk-eagle near Manaus, Brazil''. The Condor, 90(1), 239-241. Like many forest-dependent raptors, especially those in the tropical and subtropical regions, this species is likely under the pressing threat of

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

. The decline of forest habitat in this species range, especially the

Amazon rainforest The Amazon rainforest, Amazon jungle or ; es, Selva amazónica, , or usually ; french: Forêt amazonienne; nl, Amazoneregenwoud. In English, the names are sometimes capitalized further, as Amazon Rainforest, Amazon Forest, or Amazon Jungle. ...

, led 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 ...

to uplist the ornate hawk-eagle as

Near Threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as that may be vulnerable to endangerment in the near future, but it does not currently qualify fo ...

in 2016.

Taxonomy

The ornate hawk-eagle is a member of the

booted eagle The booted eagle (''Hieraaetus pennatus'', also classified as ''Aquila pennata'') is a medium-sized mostly migratory bird of prey with a wide distribution in the Palearctic and southern Asia, wintering in the tropics of Africa and Asia, with a ...

subfamily, with the signature well-feathered tarsus present on both tropical and temperate species (and shared, presumably through

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last com ...

, with a pair of buteonine hawks). It is one of four living members of the '' Spizaetus'' species of "hawk-eagle" native to the

neotropic The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In ...

s. At one time Old World hawk-eagles, native to various southern areas of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

, were also included in the ''Spizaetus'' genus. However, genetic studies have shown the Asian group of species to be

paraphyletic In taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be paraphyletic ''with respect to'' the excluded subgroups. In ...

, resulting in the

Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by thei ...

members being placed in '' Nisaetus'' (Hodgson, 1836) and separated from the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

species.Helbig, A.J, Kocum, A., Seibold, I. & Braun, M.J. (2005). ''A multi-gene phylogeny of aquiline eagles (Aves: Accipitriformes) reveals extensive paraphyly at the genus level''. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 35(1):147-164.Haring, E., Kvaløy, K., Gjershaug, J. O., Røv, N., & Gamauf, A. (2007). ''Convergent evolution and paraphyly of the hawk‐eagles of the genus Spizaetus (Aves, Accipitridae)–phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial markers''. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 45(4), 353-365. The history of the American ''Spizaetus'' genus has been indicated by the diversity of hawk-eagles found in the fossil records in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and

. At least five such species have been described, having presumably radiated from basal hawk-eagles of Asian origin across the

Bering Land Bridge Beringia is defined today as the land and maritime area bounded on the west by the Lena River in Russia; on the east by the Mackenzie River in Canada; on the north by 72 degrees north latitude in the Chukchi Sea; and on the south by the tip of ...

. Studies have indicated that some of these are ancestors of modern ''Spizaetus'' species, with the genera having been present in North America at least since the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58harpy eagle (''Harpia harpyja''). Studies based on the genetic markers indicated the black-and-white hawk-eagle (''Spizaetus melanoleucus'') and, especially, the

black-and-chestnut eagle The black-and-chestnut eagle (''Spizaetus isidori'') is a South American species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is sometimes called Isidor's eagle. It is often placed in the monotypic genus ''Oroaetus''. However, recent genetic ...

(''Spizaetus isidori'') are closely related to the ornate hawk-eagle, resulting in their respective former genera of ''Spizastur'' and ''Oroaetus'' being eliminated. The fourth neotropical hawk-eagle, the black hawk-eagle (''Spizaetus tyrannus''), has been found to be basal to the other extant species. Per genetic research, the ornate hawk-eagle and black-and-chestnut eagle are considered as

sister species In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

. The ornate hawk-eagle has been diagnosed to include two subspecies. The nominate subspecies (''S. o. ornatus'') occupies a good deal of the

n range of the species, including eastern

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 ...

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 ...

and all of the species range in

and points south. The second subspecies, ''S. o. vicarius'', has been described to inhabit the discontinuous northern part of the range, extending from

and

down through much of western

and western

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: ' ...

down as far south as El Oro.Iliff, M. (2010). ''Ornate Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus ornatus)'', Neotropical Birds Online (TS Schulenberg, Editor). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The subspecies seem to differ mostly in the plumage characteristics of adults. Whereas nominate birds are a more cinnamon-hued color on the neck with slightly paler ground color and sparser markings about the head and undersides, ''S. o. vicarius'', tends to be darker overall, with a richer, deeper more rufous color around the neck, denser and darker markings overall and broader bands on the tail.

Description

This is a medium-to-large sized species of raptor but a fairly small eagle. In the ornate hawk-eagle, the sexes are similar in appearance and overlap in size but like most birds of prey do show reverse sexual dimorphism, in which females outsize males to the contrary of most non-raptorial birds. The biggest female ornate hawk-eagles are 13% larger than biggest males, with an average of about 8% greater in nominate race. In Central America, in extreme cases, the largest females are as much as 50% heavier than the smallest males. The species is slightly smaller than the largest members of widespread raptor genera such as the largest ''

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 na ...

'' and '' Falco'' species but is usually larger than other forest raptors in its range apart from

vultures A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

and other eagle species. The total length of full grown ornate hawk-eagle is .Howell, S. N., & Webb, S. (1995). ''A guide to the birds of Mexico and northern Central America''. Oxford University Press. Average total length is estimated at for males and for females.Vallely, A. C., & Dyer, D. (2018). ''Birds of Central America: Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama (Vol. 136)''. Princeton University Press. The wingspan may range from . Body mass can vary in males from and in females from . The average weight of five adult males was while another five males averaged .Whitacre, D. F., & Jenny, J. P. (2013). ''Neotropical birds of prey: biology and ecology of a forest raptor community''. Cornell University Press. The average weight of four adult females was while a sample of 11 averaged . Among standard measurements, wing chord measures from in males and in females against ''S. o. vicarius'' in which wing chord is known to measure in males and in females. In

tail The tail is the section at the rear end of certain kinds of animals’ bodies; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. It is the part of the body that corresponds roughly to the sacrum and coccyx in mammal ...

length, males vary from and females from . The culmen from cere measures in males and . In tarsus length, males may measure and females may measure . Average wing chord lengths from

Guatemala Guatemala ( ; ), officially the Republic of Guatemala ( es, República de Guatemala, links=no), is a country in Central America. It is bordered to the north and west by Mexico; to the northeast by Belize and the Caribbean; to the east by Hon ...

(''S. o. vicarius''), showed 7 males to average and 8 females to average . Meanwhile, in the same sample, mean tail length was in males and in females and mean tarsus length was and in the sexes, respectively. The largest rear talon (or hallux claw) present on all accipitrids (usually the main killing tool in these predator's arsenal) is particularly enlarged on the ornate hawk-eagle relative to its size, averaging about in males and in females from Guatemala, with an average foot span for both sexes measuring around . Spizaetus ornatus crop

Ornate hawk-eagles largely perch within the tree canopy, but will sometimes be out on exposed branches especially earlier in the morning. Usually soaring activity peaks in the late morning. Brown & Amadon (1986) described the species are "rather stolid and

buteonine 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 ...

, despite the long tail and crest".Brown, Leslie and Amadon, Dean (1986). ''Eagles, Hawks and Falcons of the World''. The Wellfleet Press. . Adults are largely distinguishable by their rufous cowls and bold barring below.Fagan, J., & Komar, O. (2016). ''Peterson field guide to birds of northern Central America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Furthermore, all ornate hawk-eagles bear a long erectile crest, which may variously be laid flat against the head, protrude straight up like a spike or sometimes hang at a slight curve. Adults when perched have an obvious black crown, crest and malar stripes (continuing to sides as isolated streaks) sets off by the rufous color on their cheeks, ear-coverts and sides of the neck and chest (sometimes completely covering their upper chests), the rufous shading into a somewhat browner rufous nape. On the upperside, they are barred blackish to dark brown with usually apparent white tips on the mantle and lesser wing coverts. Meanwhile, on the underside, they have a whitish base color which, other than the often plain throat, is boldly overlaid with black barring. This barring extends down to the abdomen and legs, while the crissum is spotted black. Like many forest raptors, the species has relatively short wings and a longish tail.Van Perlo, B. (2009). ''A field guide to the birds of Brazil''. Oxford University Press. When perched, their wing tips slightly exceed their tail base. The tail is blackish with a creamy whitish tip and three broad pale bands, which are greyish above and whitish below, the basal bar often being obscured. According to Brown & Amadon "the perched bird seemingly has legs set very far forward, almost under the chest, thus giving the impression of posed readiness. The position of the black crest hints at the bird's temper at the moment". Juvenile differ conspicuously in many respects, generally lacking most of the pigment visible in adults. Juveniles lack the adults' rufous collar, malar stripes and underside barring. Instead, the juvenile's whole head and underparts are white excepting thin black streaks on the crown and the tip of their crest. Some juvenile ornate hawk-eagles do, however, show variable, light dark brown barring and spotting on the flanks and thighs, at even may manifest a vestigial moustache on the face. The juvenile's back and wings are dark brown with white-tipped blackish shoulders. The tail is somewhat similar to the adult's but has a broader white tip and at least 4-5 thinner bands, which like those of the adult are greyish above and whitish below. By their 2nd year, the young hawk-eagles enter an intermediate or subadult plumage that quickly starts to resemble that of the adults but is rather more faded in appearance. The subadult's face is a sandy to pale rufous color with an indistinct malar stripe, while the flanks, belly and legs increasingly start to manifest barring and spotting. The subadult's back is still largely dark brown but tends to appear increasingly blackish. Adults have orangish-yellow eyes, with a dull greenish to grey color on the cere and bare lores, while the feet are rich cream to pale yellow. Juveniles have white to whitish-yellow eyes, a yellow to bluish-grey cere and brighter yellow to orange feet. Apparently, the legs of juveniles are often less thickly feathered than those of adults. In flight it may appear intermediate in size, being large relative to most forest raptors but rather small and slender-bodied for an eagle. The flying ornate hawk-eagle is prominent headed with short, broad rounded wings that show an emphasis on the bulging secondaries and pinch in at the bases of the trailing edges. Flight of the species is deep and powerful with the wings held flattish and pressed slightly forward, while the tail may be closed to slightly spread. From above, adult has a rufous cowl, a blackish mantle and a slightly brownish black back and wings with white-tipped shoulders and tail coverts. Below the underwing is paler looking relative to body with flecking or speckling only on the hand and thinly barred flight feathers. In flight, the juvenile ornate hawk-eagle is mainly dark brown above with whitish scaled blackish-brown shoulders. Below, the juvenile's wings have scattered spots on the axillaries and great wing-coverts, blackish tips to the white based outer primaries and thin barring on the other flight feathers, at times matching the patterning of the tail. By the second year, there is an only moderate increase to the flecks and spots on the wing linings, as the flight feathers and tail are the last to molt away from the juvenile-like look to those like adults.

Confusion species

While adult ornate hawk-eagles are obviously distinctly marked from most other raptors, one species strikingly resembles this predator, the juvenile of the gray-bellied hawk (''Accipiter poliogaster'') which is extremely different looking from the respective plumage of adult gray-bellieds. While not definitely proven, this is quite possibly a case of

mimicry In evolutionary biology, mimicry is an evolved resemblance between an organism and another object, often an organism of another species. Mimicry may evolve between different species, or between individuals of the same species. Often, mimicry f ...

, as is known in other raptor assemblages wherein a less powerful species (the hawk) mimics a more powerful species (the hawk-eagle) presumably to mitigate potential predatory attacks. Distant gray-bellied hawks are best told apart by their very different proportions and build both in flight and perched. The gray-bellied hawks are typical of an ''

Accipiter ''Accipiter'' is a genus of birds of prey in the family Accipitridae. With 51 recognized species it is the most diverse genus in its family. Most species are called goshawks or sparrowhawks, although almost all New World species (excepting th ...

'', having broader and much shorter wings, relatively more elongated tail and signature flap-flap-glide flight style. Although the gray-bellied hawk is by a slight margin the largest member of that genus in

, it is still considerably smaller than the hawk-eagle, averaging about a third smaller in length. At close range, it may noticeably differ, beyond the size discrepancy, by the hawk being crestless and bearing relatively long, featherless and yellow legs. Black hawk-eagles are fairly similarly shaped and similarly sized as the ornate hawk-eagle when seen in flight but are slightly larger in appearance, being longer tailed and longer winged. Nonetheless, the ornate hawk-eagle usually is slightly heavier on average than the black hawk-eagle and may appear chestier in perched birds than the more

gracile Gracility is slenderness, the condition of being gracile, which means slender. It derives from the Latin adjective ''gracilis'' ( masculine or feminine), or ''gracile'' ( neuter), which in either form means slender, and when transferred for exa ...

black species. Confusion with the adult black hawk-eagle is unlikely given that it is always much darker, appear solidly soot colored apart from its heavily barred wings. Juveniles and late first years stages of the black hawk-eagle are most likely to be confused in distant flight with perhaps a subadult ornate, however the juvenile black hawk-eagle is always much more heavily barred below with dark cheeks separating the white supericilia and throat. Haverschmidt (1968) mentioned a "dark morph" of the ornate hawk-eagle that he said was "nearly impossible" to distinguish from the black hawk-eagle but this is considered most likely to have been a misidentified black hawk-eagle in intermediate plumage. The juvenile ornate hawk-eagle is potentially confusable with the black-and-white hawk-eagle but the latter is smaller with boxier wings, shorter crest, a bold orange cere, a strong black mask and a blacker upper-body with white leading edges. Also the black-and-white bears no spots or barring on its wings and has a plain white underbody. The black-and-white species is more similar to an ''

'' in proportions than the ornate species, having relatively less expansive wings and somewhat more elongated looking tail. Juveniles are told from the similar juvenile

by their smaller size and by having more extensive spots and barring on the under wing (giving the differences in altitudinal range, overlap in distribution is likely very minimal).Ridgely, R. S., & Greenfield, P. J. (2001). ''The birds of Ecuador. Vol. 2, A field guide''. Christopher Helm. Juvenile

hook-billed kite The hook-billed kite (''Chondrohierax uncinatus''), is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, eagles, and harriers. It occurs in the Americas, including the Rio Grande Valley o ...

(''Chondrohierax uncinatus'') are also potentially confusable with juvenile ornates but the kite is much smaller and more dumpily built with more paddle-shaped wings, a squarer tail, with clearer bars on remiges and rectrices and bare tarsi. Another kite, the

gray-headed kite The gray-headed kite (''Leptodon cayanensis'') is a raptor found in open woodland and swamp forests. It shares the genus ''Leptodon'' with the extremely rare white-collared kite. It breeds from eastern Mexico and Trinidad south to Peru, Bolivi ...

(''Leptodon cayanensis'') can be considered similar in plumage in its adult plumage to the juvenile ornate but it is rather smaller with very different shape in all respects (especially in its small, pigeon-like head), completely different underwing pattern and unmarked body but for grey crown and nape. Pale juvenile crested eagles (''Morphnus guianensis'') appear much larger and longer tailed than juvenile ornate hawk-eagles with dark grey rather than dark brown backs, unbarred flanks and have a less marked hand in flight contrasting with more boldly barred primary quills. Despite the ornate species not infrequently being described as “slim”, in actuality, the much bigger looking crested eagle is much lighter for its size and only averages about 30% heavier than the ornate (i.e. other eagle species around the same total length as the crested eagle weigh about three times as much as the ornate species).Smith, J. W. (2012). ''Crested Eagle (Morphnus guianensis)'', version 1.0. In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. Despite its somewhat similar plumage and appearance to the crested eagle, the harpy eagle is far more massive than the ornate hawk-eagle (nearly five times heavier on average) and unlikely to be confused with any plumage of the smaller species.

Vocalization

The main call known for the ornate hawk-eagle is a series of loud piping whistles. It is emitted by the soaring bird, usually male, and is often transcribed as , the repeated anywhere from 2 to 9 times. Numerous variations are known are given in terms of transcription but most sources describe in roughly similar ways.Stiles, F. G., & Skutch, A. F. (1989). ''Guide to the birds of Costa Rica''. Comistock.Ridgely, R. S., & Gwynne, J. A. (1989). ''A guide to the birds of Panama: with Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras''. Princeton University Press.Ffrench, R., O'Neill, J. P., & Eckelberry, D. R. (1991). ''Guide to the birds of Trinidad and Tobago''. Illustrated by John P. O'Neill. Unlike the call of the black hawk-eagle, similarly done in flying display, the ornate hawk-eagle the introductory series of notes is more hurried and the last note more drawn out. It has been noted by some authors that the ornate species' call in nearly a reverse of the pattern of the calling black hawk-eagle which calls , the first note being longest and slurred, second note highest, followed by descending short notes. While perched, ornate hawk-eagle may let out a followed by an accelerating series of excited sounding laughing notes. Other reported call include a reminiscent of a

limpkin The limpkin (''Aramus guarauna''), also called carrao, courlan, and crying bird, is a large wading bird related to rails and cranes, and the only extant species in the family Aramidae. It is found mostly in wetlands in warm parts of the America ...

(''Aramus guarauna'') call and a

cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

-like scream when disturbed. Perched juveniles have a food begging call consisting of a loud, clear whistle, which is repeatedly irregularly and transcribed as''wheeu'' or ''wheee''. While nesting, the male when arriving with food announces his presence with a ''pitpit'' call repeated four times. The most common form of call by the female is emitted during food begging, a note, which is usually repeated about four times. She may also call out a sharp when being mobbed by small birds. A further call was once attributed to an ornate hawk-eagle that was hunting a

guan Guan may refer to: * Guan (surname), several similar Chinese surnames ** Guān, Chinese surname * Guan (state), ancient Chinese city-state * Guan (bird), any of a number of bird species of the family Cracidae, of South and Central America * Gu ...

was a very deep growl, reminiscent of a

big cat The term "big cat" is typically used to refer to any of the five living members of the genus ''Panthera'', namely the tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard. Despite enormous differences in size, various cat species are quite similar ...

, to such a degree that the witnesses initially thought the guan was being pursued by a

jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus ''Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...

(''Panthera onca''). However, further analysis has indicated that it was the guan itself that had let out the big catlike growl (possibly in an effort to startle the predator and perhaps successfully as the guan escaped) and not, in likelihood, the hawk-eagle itself.Slud, P. (1964). ''The birds of Costa Rica: distribution and ecology. Las aves de Costa Rica: distribución y ecología''. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist, 128, 1-430.Kilham, L. (1978). ''Alarm call of crested guan when attacked by ornate hawk-eagle''. The Condor, 80(3), 347-348.

Range and habitat

The ornate hawk-eagle has the largest distribution of the nine species of eagle endemic to the

s, ranging over an estimated 20.2 million square kilometers in total. This is a largely sedentary species, but some local dispersal is known to occur and individuals wander into drier forest and higher altitudes than normal. The species ranges as far north as southeastern

, where it is found on the Caribbean slope from southern

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...

, on Pacific more infrequently in

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal ...

and east

Oaxaca Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the Federative Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 570 municipaliti ...

. In their Mexican range, their status is uncertain in

Colima Colima (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Colima ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Colima), is one of the 31 states that make up the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It shares its name with its capital and main city, Colima. Colima i ...

, where it may be extirpated.Aranda, M., Burton, A., Iñigo-Elías, E., & Escalante, P. (2009). ''Registro del águila elegante (Spizaetus ornatus) en la Reserva de la Biosfera sierra de Manantlán, Jalisco-Colima, México''. Revista mexicana de biodiversidad, 80(1), 265-268. Reportage of the species is known in the Mexican states of

Guerrero Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acapulcocopied from article, GuerreroAs of 2020, Guerrero the pop ...

and

Nayarit Nayarit (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit), is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its ...

but these could pertain to wandering individuals. Nesting remains unconfirmed throughout west Mexico and since most birds seen are juveniles, these could refer to post-dispersal wanderers. The species is found almost continuously through

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 wa ...

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south ...

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 ...

and

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 coun ...

into

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

and

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 Co ...

(including the isle of Coiba). In Panama, it is much more numerous on the more humid Caribbean side than the drier slopes of the Pacific, being especially scarce in the

Panama canal zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the ter ...

and

Azuero Peninsula Azuero Peninsula ( es, Península de Azuero) is a large peninsula in southern Panama. It is surrounded by the Pacific Ocean in the south; the Pacific and Gulf of Montijo to the west, and by the Gulf of Panama in the east. The peninsula is effecti ...

, but can occur in more humid parts of the Pacific side. A similar distributional favoring of the more humid Caribbean coast has been noted elsewhere in Central America as well. In South America, the range continues locally west of the

(formerly at least to tropical western

), being somewhat more commonly found north and east of the Andes in

, northern and central

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

, eastern Ecuador and 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 * ...

. In

, it occupies nearly two-thirds of the large country south to Paraná and marginally into Santa Catarina and

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a state in the southern region of Brazil. It is the fifth-most-populous state and the ninth largest by area. Located in the southernmost part of the country, Rio Grande do Sul is border ...

but is largely (if not entirely) absent from

Mato Grosso do Sul Mato Grosso do Sul () is one of the Midwestern states of Brazil. Neighboring Brazilian states are (from north clockwise) Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders the countries of Paraguay, to the southwest, and ...

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literall ...

and more or less the entirety of the northeast region. Their distribution continues through eastern

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, northern, central and eastern

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 ...

, southern

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to t ...

and northwestern (down to Tucumán) and northeastern Argentina (down to Santa Fe), though it has been wondered if the northeast occurrences are merely incidental wanderings of juveniles from adjacent populations. Despite its wide distribution, the species is frequently quite uncommon to increasingly rare in several parts of the range, though can outnumber other eagles (apart from the slightly more adaptable black hawk-eagle). This species dwells in well forested regions, preferring tall, wet or humid, tropical and subtropical forests. Although some of the species can dwell in

dry tropical forest The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-round, and may receive ...

this is usually quite secondary habitat.Piana, R. P., Crespo, S., Angulo, F., Ormaeche, E., & Alzamora, M. (2010). ''Grey Hawk Buteo nitidus and Ornate hawk-Eagle Spizaetus ornatus in north-west Peru''. Cotinga, 32, 106-108. More so than black hawk-eagles, the ornate hawk-eagle tends to be found primarily only in unbroken primary forest tracts. Some records indicate that the ornate hawk-eagle may persist on tracts of forest down to only but usually such extensive

causes the species to vacate the area.Zorzin, G., Carvalho, C. E. A., Carvalho Filho, E. P. M., & Canuto, M. (2006). ''Novos registros de Falconiformes raros e ameaçados para o estado de Minas Gerais''. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 14(4), 417-421.Martinez-Sanchez, J. C. (1986). ''Causes affecting the survival of birds of prey in Nicaragua''. Birds of prey Bulletin, 3, 43-47.Clinton-Eitniear, J. (1986). ''Status of the large forest eagles of Belize''. Birds Prey Bull, 3, 107-110. The ornate hawk-eagle may be found at sea level to , also rarely to about . However, they've been recorded wandering to in

. The species adapts quite well to

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud ...

habitat which are usually at higher elevations than typical

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfores ...

habitats (i.e. in primary cloud forest of southern Mexico, the ornate hawk-eagle was one of the two most frequently recorded raptor species).Iñigo-Elias, E., Ramos, E., & Gonzáles, F. (1989). ''Some ecological aspects of two primary evergreen forest raptor communities compared with cultivated tropical areas in southern Mexico''. Meyburg, B.-U. & Chancellor, RD (eds): Raptors in the modern world. WWGBP: Berlin, London & Paris. 529-543 p. In some areas, the hawk-eagles may occasional habituate partially to edges, riversides and other openings, also into gallery strips and relatively short swamp forest.

Deciduous forests In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

, mixed

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

- oak, taller stretches of

secondary forest A secondary forest (or second-growth forest) is a forest or woodland area which has re-grown after a timber harvest or clearing for agriculture, until a long enough period has passed so that the effects of the disturbance are no longer evident. I ...

s and shade coffee plantations, as long they have tall native tree canopies, may be visited and even locally nested in, as was recorded in

.Iñigo-Elias, E., Ramos, M., & González, F. (1987). ''Two recent records of neotropical eagles in southern Veracruz, México''. The Condor, 89(3), 671-672. In

, they are often fairly distant from openings and dwell almost entirely in primary forest, especially areas where at least one very tall tree emerged above the average canopy level and there is less forest understory to more easily execute hunting. The Guatemalan hawk-eagles preferred fairly homogenous forest in drier upland parts of the humid forest, since the hilly areas of the forest tended to have more of the aforementioned habitat characteristic. However, the hawk-eagles here did sometimes occur in scrub-swamp forests as long as it retained tall trees, however the ornate hawk-eagles who nested in scrub-swamp forest type often went to the upland areas to hunt.

Dietary habits

The ornate hawk-eagle is a powerful predator that readily varies its prey selection among two main prey groups. Largely the most significant prey for the species are medium to large sized

s. The other main prey type are a variety of small to medium-sized

s. On occasion,

s may form a seldom part of the diet. This species largely forages inside forests, often perch-hunting. This entails short flights from tree to tree at mid-story heights while foraging or still-hunting from inconspicuous vantage points near the center of a dense canopy. Upon prey detection, they swoop to grasp the prey on the ground or in trees or engage in tail chases among trees.Lyon, B., & Kuhnigk, A. (1985). ''Observations on nesting ornate hawk-eagles in Guatemala''. Wilson Bulletin, 97(2), 141-147. The agility imparted by its relative small and broad wings and longish tail and talent for tail-chases in enclosed woods and thickets are why this and similar eagles are referred to as “hawk-eagles”, in reference to similar hunting styles in the “true hawks” i.e. the members of the ''

'' genus. In size, tail length and hunting style, the ornate hawk-eagle in particular is quite similar to the largest races of the largest ''Accipiter'' species, the

northern goshawk The northern goshawk (; ''Accipiter gentilis'') is a species of medium-large raptor in the family Accipitridae, a family which also includes other extant diurnal raptors, such as eagles, buzzards and harriers. As a species in the genus '' Acci ...

(''Accipiter gentilis'').Acosta-Chaves, V., Granados, F., & Araya, D. (2012). ''Predation of Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher (Ptilogonys caudatus) by Ornate Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus ornatus) in a cloud forest of Costa Rica''. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 20(4), 451-452. Most witnessed tail-chases by this species have involved chasing various gamebirds, with about equal accounts of successful and unsuccessful pursuits. In

, most attacks were launched when the hawk-eagle was from its quarry, with all successful attacks on prey on ground or low bushes and were from perches at high or lower in the trees. In

Manú National Park Manú National Park ( es, Parque Nacional del Manú) is a national park and biosphere reserve located in the regions of Madre de Dios and Cusco in Peru. It protects a diverse number of ecosystems including lowland rainforests, cloud forests and ...

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, most observed attacks were untaken within about of the prey and prey was attacked mostly on the ground, although they also captured rails from shallow water (in one case losing a gallinule rail to a nearby

caiman A caiman (also cayman as a variant spelling) is an alligatorid belonging to the subfamily Caimaninae, one of two primary lineages within the Alligatoridae family, the other being alligators. Caimans inhabit Mexico, Central and South America f ...

before the hawk-eagle could carry it prey away).Robinson, S. K. (1994). ''Habitat selection and foraging ecology of raptors in Amazonian Peru''. Biotropica, 443-458. In attacking

Guianan cock-of-the-rock The Guianan cock-of-the-rock (''Rupicola rupicola'') is a species of cotinga, a passerine bird from South America. It is about in length and weighs about . It is found in tropical rainforests, near its preferred habitat of rocky outcrops. The ...

(''Rupicola rupicola'') on their mating lek, 2 of 8 attempted attacks by ornate hawk-eagles were successful (and were the only successful attacks of 56 total attempts, the other 48 by different raptor species). The hawk-eagles made bold, fast dives into the middle of the leks, quickly grabbing a male cock-of-the-rock. Subsequently, one hawk-eagle consumed the bird right on the spot in one case and the other took its catch to a nearby perch.Trail, P. W. (1987). ''Predation and antipredator behavior at Guianan cock-of-the-rock leks''. The Auk, 104(3), 496-507. Reported instances of "power dives" into troops of

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

s and even heronries are probably similar in nature to the cock-of-the-rock attacks.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 ...

, London. In one case, an ornate hawk-eagle was able to capture a

black vulture The black vulture (''Coragyps atratus''), also known as the American black vulture, Mexican vulture, zopilote, urubu, or gallinazo, is a bird in the New World vulture family whose range extends from the northeastern United States to Peru, Cen ...

(''Coragyps atratus'') that had come to the carcass of a monkey that the hawk-eagle itself may have also killed.Dickey, D. R., & Van Rossem, A. J. (1938). ''The birds of El Salvador (Vol. 23)''. Field Museum of Natural History. In general, a picture has emerged that the ornate hawk-eagle is a particularly opportunistic predator, attracted to conspicuous prey behaviors and less deeply searching in its foraging than most co-existing forest eagles. In total, well over 100 prey species are known for ornate hawk-eagles.Zilio, F. (2017). ''Breeding biology and conservation of hawk-eagles (Spizaetus spp.)(Aves, Accipitridae) in southern Atlantic Forest, Brazil''. Iheringia. Série Zoologia, 107. Of particularly broad import to ornate hawk-eagles are the cracid family of gamebirds such as

chachalaca Chachalacas are galliform birds from the genus ''Ortalis''. These birds are found in wooded habitats in the far southern United States (Texas), Mexico, and Central and South America. They are social, can be very noisy and often remain fairly c ...

s, guans and

curassow Curassows are one of the three major groups of cracid birds. They comprise the largest-bodied species of the cracid family. Three of the four genera are restricted to tropical South America; a single species of ''Crax'' ranges north to Mexico ...

s. In fact, local names refer to this species at times as the "

hawk" or the "

hawk”.Russell, S. M. (1964). ''A distributional study of the birds of British Honduras''. Ornithological Monographs, 1. At least twelve species of cracid are taken quite often where available (including the crested guan 'Penelope purpurascens'',https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/Spizaetus_ornatus%20-%20Ornate%20Hawk-eagle.pdf and this is probably only a partial list of the species they hunt.Retana, S.A.V., Araya-H.D., & García, R. (2016). ''Record of Depredation by Spizaetus ornatus on Nyctibius grandis in the Selva Biological Station, Sarapiquí, Heredia, Costa Rica''. Spizaetus, 22: 14-19.Dornas, T., & Pinheiro, R. T. (2007). ''Predação de Opisthocomus hoazin por Spizaetus ornatus e de Bubulcus ibis por Bubo virginianus em Tocantins, Brasil''. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 15(4), 601-604.Joenck, C. M., Zilio, F., & de Mendonça-Lima, A. (2011). ''First record of breeding of the Ornate Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus ornatus) in Southern Brazil''. El hornero, 26(2), 163-166. However, the ornate hawk-eagle is far from specialized on cracid prey and takes more or less any medium-sized or larger avian prey they opportune upon. In total, about 65% of recorded prey species for ornate hawk-eagles are birds. Beyond cracids, some of the most significant prey families and orders are

tinamou Tinamous () form an order of birds called Tinamiformes (), comprising a single family called Tinamidae (), divided into two distinct subfamilies, containing 46 species found in Mexico, Central America, and South America. The word "tinamou" co ...

(at least 8 species), pigeons and doves (9 species or more),

toucan Toucans (, ) are members of the Neotropical near passerine bird family Ramphastidae. The Ramphastidae are most closely related to the American barbets. They are brightly marked and have large, often colorful bills. The family includes five g ...

s (at least 7 species),

parrot Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittacoide ...

s (at least 9 species) as well as assorted non-cracid gamebirds and largish

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...

s. In

Tikal Tikal () (''Tik’al'' in modern Mayan orthography) is the ruin of an ancient city, which was likely to have been called Yax Mutal, found in a rainforest in Guatemala. It is one of the largest archeological sites and urban centers of the pre- ...

, the most often identified avian prey on 10 ornate hawk-eagle territories was 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 jung ...

(''Ramphastos sulfuratus''), accounting for 11.3% of 408 prey items, followed by the plain chachalaca (''Ortalis vetula'') (6.5%) and great tinamou (''Tinamus major'') (4%) (in by far the largest dietary study conducted for this hawk-eagle). In total, birds were 56.3% of the foods for the species at the Tikal study. Another Guatemalan study observed 6 avian prey items and 1 mammal ( bat) as prey as a hawk-eagle nest. The next largest known study, in rainforests near

Manaus Manaus () is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Amazonas. It is the seventh-largest city in Brazil, with an estimated 2020 population of 2,219,580 distributed over a land area of about . Located at the east center of the s ...

, found among 82 prey items, birds made up 63.3% of the diet. The most often identified avian prey here were probable

dusky-legged guan The dusky-legged guan (''Penelope obscura'') is a species of bird in the family Cracidae, the chachalacas, guans, and curassows. It is found in Uruguay, northeastern Argentina and southernmost areas of Paraguay and Brazil. In early 2021, the form ...

(''Penelope obscura'') (20.4%) and two species of large

s (12.24%). At a slightly smaller dietary study of the southern part of the

Atlantic forest The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...

found that 90% of 30 prey items were birds, principally

brown tinamou The brown tinamou (''Crypturellus obsoletus'') is a brownish ground bird found in humid lowland and montane forest in tropical and subtropical South America.BirdLife International (2008) Taxonomy All tinamous are usually treated in a single f ...

(''Crypturellus obsoletus'') (33.3%), ''Leptotila'' doves (10%),

and green-barred woodpecker (''Colaptes melanochloros'') (both 6.67%). Apparently, birds (including

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster or cock is a term for an adu ...

s (''Gallus gallus domesticus'')) were the main foods in

. In a nest in

, 14 of 15 prey items were assorted birds. More secondary avian prey recorded for ornate hawk-eagles includes

cuckoo Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separ ...

potoos Potoos (family Nyctibiidae) are a group of birds related to the nightjars and frogmouths. They are sometimes called poor-me-ones, after their haunting calls. The family Nyctibiidae was formerly included with the nightjars in the order Caprim ...

, rails,

trumpeters The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard B ...

herons The herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera ''Botaurus'' and ''Ixobrychus ...

and

egrets Egrets ( ) are herons, generally long-legged wading birds, that have white or buff plumage, developing fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from herons and have the same build ...

owls Owls are birds from the Order (biology), order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly Solitary animal, solitary and Nocturnal animal, nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vi ...

, kingfishers,

motmot The motmots or Momotidae are a family of birds in the order coraciiformes, which also includes the kingfishers, bee-eaters and rollers. All extant motmots are restricted to woodland or forests in the Neotropics, and the largest are in Middle A ...

s and

hoatzin The hoatzin ( ) or hoactzin ( ), (''Opisthocomus hoazin''), is the only species in the order Opisthocomiformes. It is a species of tropical bird found in swamps, riparian forests, and mangroves of the Amazon and the Orinoco basins in South Ameri ...

s (''Opisthocomus hoazin'').Wetmore, A., Pasquier, R. F., & Olson, S. L. (1965). ''The Birds of the Republic of Panama: Tinamidae (tinamous) to Rynchopidae (skimmers) (Vol. 1)''. Smithsonian Institution. However, at both Tikal and Manaus, the most often identified prey species types were mammals. In Tikal, the similar

Yucatan squirrel The Yucatan squirrel (, ''Sciurus yucatanensis''), originally named the Yucatan gray squirrel, also once named the Campeche squirrel, is a tree squirrel in the genus '' Sciurus'' found in the Yucatán Peninsula and adjacent areas. It is native t ...

(''Sciurus yucatanensis'') and the

Deppe's squirrel Deppe's squirrel (''Sciurus deppei'') is a species of tree squirrel in the genus ''Sciurus'' native to Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, and Nicaragua. Description ''Sciurus deppei'' varies in individual color. Th ...

(''Sciurus deppei'') lead the food by number, accounting for 28.2% of the foods. In Manu, unidentified species of large terrestrial rodents, either

agouti The agouti (, ) or common agouti is any of several rodent species of the genus ''Dasyprocta''. They are native to Middle America, northern and central South America, and the southern Lesser Antilles. Some species have also been introduced ...

s or the similar but smaller

acouchi The acouchis (genus ''Myoprocta'') are rodents belonging to the family Dasyproctidae from the Amazon basin. They are generally smaller than agoutis and have very short tails (5 to 7 cm), while agoutis lack tails. For this reason the acouchis ...

s took the primary position, making up 24.4% of the diet. At a single nest in

Henri Pittier National Park Henri Pittier National Park is the oldest national park in Venezuela, originally created in 1937 under the name of ''Rancho Grande'' by decree of President Eleazar López Contreras. In 1953 the park was renamed in honor of Henri Pittier, a distin ...

, without presented metrics, rodents and mammals were observed to outnumber birds in the diet, namely the

red-tailed squirrel The red-tailed squirrel (''Sciurus granatensis'') is a species of tree squirrel distributed from southern Central America to northern South America. Distribution It is found in Central and South America ( Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panam ...

(''Sciurus granatensis'') and

cotton rat A cotton rat is any member of the rodent genus ''Sigmodon''. Their name derives from their damaging effects on cotton as well as other plantation crops, such as sugarcane, corn, peanut and rice. Cotton rats have small ears and dark coats, and a ...

s (''Sigmodon ssp''.).Naveda-Rodríguez, A. (2004). ''Contribution to the natural history of ornate hawk-eagle Spizaetus ornatus (Daudin, 1801) and great black-hawk Buteogallus urubitinga (Gmelin, 1788)''. Revista de Ecologia Latino-America, 11, 23-26. Among mammals, these medium to fairly large

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are rodents. They are n ...

s regardless of whether they show terrestrial (

s and similar species) or

arboreal Arboreal locomotion is the locomotion of animals in trees. In habitats in which trees are present, animals have evolved to move in them. Some animals may scale trees only occasionally, but others are exclusively arboreal. The habitats pose nu ...

(

tree squirrel Tree squirrels are the members of the squirrel family (Sciuridae) commonly just referred to as "squirrels." They include more than 100 arboreal species native to all continents except Antarctica and Oceania. They do not form a single natural, o ...

s) tendencies make up the largest known portion of the food, perhaps most key being partially diurnal habits. Another widely recorded mammalian prey group are

procyonid Procyonidae is a New World family of the order Carnivora. It comprises the raccoons, ringtails, cacomistles, coatis, kinkajous, olingos, and olinguitos. Procyonids inhabit a wide range of environments and are generally omnivorous. Characteri ...

s despite a slight penchant for more nocturnal activity, including such prey as

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...

(''Procyon lotor''),

white-nosed coati The white-nosed coati (''Nasua narica''), also known as the coatimundi (), is a species of coati and a member of the family Procyonidae (raccoons and their relatives). Local Spanish names for the species include ''pizote'', ''antoon'', and ''te ...

(''Nasua narica''),

kinkajou The kinkajou ( /ˈkɪŋkədʒuː/ ''KING-kə-joo''; ''Potos flavus'') is a tropical rainforest mammal of the family Procyonidae related to olingos, coatis, raccoons, and the ringtail and cacomistle. It is the only member of the genus ''Potos'' ...

(''Poto flavus'') and

cacomistle The cacomistle (; ''Bassariscus sumichrasti'') is a nocturnal, arboreal and omnivorous member of the carnivoran family Procyonidae. Its preferred habitats are wet, tropical, evergreen woodlands and mountain forests, though seasonally it will ve ...

(''Bassariscus sumichrasti''). Usually the hawk-eagles are likely to target juveniles of the larger species of procyonid, although adults at least up to the size of kinkajous may be taken.Cima, A., Farías, G., Zapotecos, U., de Juárez, C., & de Méndez, C. (2018). ''Enhancing our knowledge on the Ornate Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus ornatus) through community-based monitoring records from Tropical Mexico''. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 26(3), 196-201. However, certainly the most well-studied mammalian prey for ornate hawk-eagles are

New World monkey New World monkeys are the five families of primates that are found in the tropical regions of Mexico, Central and South America: Callitrichidae, Cebidae, Aotidae, Pitheciidae, and Atelidae. The five families are ranked together as the Ceboidea ...

s, which they do not hunt necessarily seem to hunt preferentially. However, they are unlikely to ignore an opportunity to prey upon primates. Among monkeys, mainly those of a smaller size class are hunted, largely such groups as

squirrel monkey Squirrel monkeys are New World monkeys of the genus ''Saimiri''. ''Saimiri'' is the only genus in the subfamily Saimirinae. The name of the genus is of Tupi origin (''sai-mirím'' or ''çai-mbirín'', with ''sai'' meaning 'monkey' and ''mirím'' ...

tamarin The tamarins are squirrel-sized New World monkeys from the family Callitrichidae in the genus ''Saguinus''. They are the first offshoot in the Callitrichidae tree, and therefore are the sister group of a clade formed by the lion tamarins, Goe ...

marmoset The marmosets (), also known as zaris or sagoin, are 22 New World monkey species of the genera ''Callithrix'', ''Cebuella'', ''Callibella'', and ''Mico''. All four genera are part of the biological family Callitrichidae. The term "marmoset" is ...

s and titi monkeys are attacked. In most such monkey species, adults usually weigh less than , and juveniles may be slightly more regularly taken even for species this small.Bidner, L. R. (2014). ''Primates on the menu: Direct and indirect effects of predation on primate communities''. International Journal of Primatology, 35(6), 1164–1177.Rylands, A. B. (Ed.). (1993). ''Marmosets and tamarins: systematics, behaviour, and ecology''. Oxford University Press.Boinski, S., Kauffman, L., Westoll, A., Stickler, C. M., Cropp, S., & Ehmke, E. (2003). ''Are vigilance, risk from avian predators and group size consequences of habitat structure? A comparison of three species of squirrel monkey (Saimiri oerstedii, S. boliviensis, and S. sciureus)''. Behaviour, 140, 1421–1467. Larger primates, i.e. averaging over , are on occasion vulnerable to predation by ornate hawk-eagles including white-faced sakis (''Pithecia pithecia''), Guatemalan black howler (''Alouatta pigra'') (certainly only juveniles of this very large howler monkey) and some species of capuchin monkey.Treves, A., Drescher, A., & Ingrisano, N. (2001). ''Vigilance and aggregation in black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra)''. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 50(1), 90-95. Due to the range of predators that they attract given their relatively smaller size, monkeys in the neotropics are highly wary and have well-developed anti-predator defenses, especially a variety of alarm calls, grouping techniques, great arboreal agility and aggressive defensive attacks by top males, all of which make monkeys more difficult to attack than more solitary, terrestrial and/or slower-moving mammal prey of similar size. Relatively few mammalian prey are taken outside of rodents, procyonids and monkeys, but ornate hawk-eagles are also known to take Jamaican fruit bats (''Artibeus jamaicensis''), other leaf-nosed bats, a few species of

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 No ...

silky anteater The silky anteater, also known as the pygmy anteater, has traditionally been considered a single species of anteater, ''Cyclopes didactylus'', in the genus ''Cyclopes'', the only living genus in the family Cyclopedidae. Found in southern Mexico ...

s (''Cyclopes didactylus'') and even apparently

bush dog The bush dog (''Speothos venaticus'') is a canine found in Central and South America. In spite of its extensive range, it is very rare in most areas except in Suriname, Guyana and Peru; it was first identified by Peter Wilhelm Lund from foss ...

s (''Speothos venaticus''). One reported instance of scavenging on carrion has been reported for this hawk-eagle, on the carcass of a domestic cow (''Bos primigenius taurus''). Apart from mammals and birds, only rarely does the ornate hawk-eagle seem to hunt

s (i.e.

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 altho ...

s and unidentified

snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more ...

s). While in many dietary studies no reptiles were known to be taken, in the

area of Brazil reptiles made up nearly 4.1% of the diet. The size of prey taken can be quite variable for ornate hawk-eagles. In one estimate, most prey (specifically avian types) was estimated to weigh between . In the large study of

, the size of prey items was estimated to weigh from for the Jamaican fruit bat to for the

great curassow The great curassow (''Crax rubra'') is a large, pheasant-like bird from the Neotropical rainforests, its range extending from eastern Mexico, through Central America to western Colombia and northwestern Ecuador. Male birds are black with curly ...

(''Crax rubra''). Another prey item taken of similar size to the fruit bat is the

Mexican mouse opossum The Mexican mouse opossum (''Marmosa mexicana'') is a species of North American opossum in the family Didelphidae. Description ''Marmosa mexicana'' is a small to moderate-sized reddish-brown marsupial, varying from bright to dull coloration. ...

(''Marmosa mexicana'') and these two species are the smallest known mammalian prey for ornate hawk-eagle. The smallest avian prey recorded thus far is the

long-tailed silky-flycatcher The long-tailed silky-flycatcher (''Ptiliogonys caudatus'') is a passerine bird which occurs only in the mountains of Costa Rica and western Panama, usually from 1,850 m altitude to the timberline. It is a thrush-sized species weighing ...

(''Ptilogonys caudatus''). Otherwise, passerine prey taken are slightly larger, usually various jays and

icterid Icterids () or New World blackbirds make up a family, the Icteridae (), of small to medium-sized, often colorful, New World passerine birds. Most species have black as a predominant plumage color, often enlivened by yellow, orange, or red. The ...

s, resulting in persistent

mobbing Mobbing, as a sociological term, means bullying of an individual by a group, in any context, such as a family, peer group, school, workplace, neighborhood, community, or online. When it occurs as physical and emotional abuse in the workplace, suc ...

of hawk-eagles by species such as brown jays (''Psilorhinus morio'') (this loud mobbing of the hawk-eagles in Central America in turn allows researchers to more easily find the raptors). Despite the ornate hawk-eagles' notable predatory power and ability to take large prey, mean prey sizes taken in a couple of estimates are not exceptional relative to their own body mass, though are perhaps slightly higher than those for most similarly sized raptors.Marti, C. D., Korpimäki, E., & Jaksić, F. M. (1993). ''Trophic structure of raptor communities: a three-continent comparison and synthesis''. In Current ornithology (pp. 47-137). Springer, Boston, MA. In the Tikal study, mean prey size was estimated at , with avian prey averaging an estimated and mammal prey (which consisted largely of squirrels) averaging an estimated . In the smaller dietary study from the Atlantic forests of Brazil, estimated mean prey size was . Thus mean prey sizes from the two studies averages at about 34-42% of the hawk-eagle's own body size. Within their enclosed forest habitats, ornate hawk-eagle are capable of attacking much of the largest avian prey available, excepting larger birds of prey (the largest regional

water bird A water bird, alternatively waterbird or aquatic bird, is a bird that lives on or around water. In some definitions, the term ''water bird'' is especially applied to birds in freshwater ecosystems, although others make no distinction from seabi ...

s such as

stork Storks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family called Ciconiidae, and make up the order Ciconiiformes . Ciconiiformes previously included a number of other families, such as herons an ...

s rarely enter deep forest habitat). This species is capable of tackling healthy prey weighing up to at least four times its own weight. These include the aforementioned great curassow and the ocellated turkey (''Meleagris ocellata''), of which the ornate hawk-eagle is capable of taking adults weighing or more. Mammalian prey taken can reach an estimated in the case of a

Central American agouti The Central American agouti (''Dasyprocta punctata'') is a species of agouti from the family Dasyproctidae. The main portion of its range is from Chiapas and the Yucatan Peninsula (southern Mexico), through Central America, to northwestern Ecua ...

(''Dasyprocta punctata''). Other mammalian prey including the largest procyonids and monkeys hunted by the hawk-eagle can reach similar body masses, i.e. approximately and perhaps even up to around . Of a similar size range to these largest birds and mammals, numerous successful attacks have reported on adults of the green iguana (''Iguana iguana''), which weigh an average of about . When capturing such large prey, ornate hawk-eagles are incapable of flying with them. In the case of agoutis and curassows killed in

, the hawk-eagles would return repeatedly to feed on their kill, ultimately consuming about half of the bodies before

decomposition Decomposition or rot is the process by which dead organic substances are broken down into simpler organic or inorganic matter such as carbon dioxide, water, simple sugars and mineral salts. The process is a part of the nutrient cycle and ...

sets in. A male ornate hawk-eagle that had killed a great tinamou of roughly equal weight to itself (both around ) was similarly grounded after being unable to fly with its kill (only consuming the head before being flushed by researchers).

Interspecies relations

The ornate hawk-eagle overlaps in distribution with many raptors, including other powerful eagles. Furthermore, there appears to be considerable habitat selection overlap between these species, including both black-and-white hawk-eagle and black hawk-eagle, although the latter is somewhat more adaptable to openings and forest fragmentation. Furthermore, the larger species such as the crested and harpy eagle are largely concurrent in distribution and habitat with the ornate hawk-eagle. While interspecies relations of neotropical eagles are relatively poorly known, it is likely that there is some degree of natural partitioning to allow the raptors to co-exist. To the best knowledge of ornithologists and other researchers, the most likely form of partitioning comes in the form of the dietary preferences. While the three lowland hawk-eagles select broadly similar prey species across their prey spectrum, each focuses primarily on a different prey group. While the largest dietary study from

showed that ornate hawk-eagle somewhat prefers relatively larger class birds, such as cracids.

s and

s, alternately with smallish, primarily diurnal mammals, adjacent studies in Tikal of the black hawk-eagles shows they primarily hunted small, nocturnal mammals such as bats and

mouse opossum The 27 species in the genus ''Marmosa'' are relatively small Neotropical members of the family Didelphidae. This genus is one of three that are known as mouse opossums. The others are ''Thylamys'' (the "fat-tailed mouse opossums") and ''Tlacuatz ...

s. Other (but not all) studies also indicate a preference for mammals of varying sizes (perhaps to the size of

s) in the diet of black hawk-eagles. Meanwhile, black-and-white hawk-eagles have been indicated to show a preference for slightly smaller birds than those selected by ornate hawk-eagles, such as medium-to-large passerines,

pigeon Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

s and smallish

s (such as aracaris and toucanets), though capable of preying on adult

ducks Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form ...

and even

monkeys Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incom ...

quite as large as those taken by the ornate. The most similar hawk-eagle by diet is the closely related

, as this often hunts gamebirds such as cracids and

s like the ornate, but this species has a different altitudinal range being found in forests in the high montane forests, usually at a minimum elevation of . Other eagle-like forest raptors such as

solitary eagle The solitary eagle or montane solitary eagle (''Buteogallus solitarius'') is a large Neotropical eagle. It is also known as the black solitary eagle. Range and habitat The solitary eagle is native to Mexico and Central and South America. It ...

s (''Buteogallus solitarius''), whose mountainous range (similar to the black-and-chestnut) barely abuts the altitudinal range with ornate hawk-eagle, have strongly different dietary preferences (i.e.

s) while other '' Buteogallus'' species tend to be much more aquatically based both in diet and habitat preferences. Overlap in the prey spectrum is known with both crested and harpy eagles, but dietary preferences differ considerably. In the harpy eagle, preferred prey are

sloth Sloths are a group of Neotropical xenarthran mammals constituting the suborder Folivora, including the extant arboreal tree sloths and extinct terrestrial ground sloths. Noted for their slowness of movement, tree sloths spend most of their l ...

s (which have never been known to fall prey to ornate hawk-eagles) and larger sized

s. Meanwhile, the crested eagle seems to prefer intermediately sized mammals, including monkeys mostly between

and capuchin monkey-sized, but to also seemingly take prey of more varied classes than other lowland forest eagles. In

, like the black hawk-eagle, the crested eagle appears to prefer nocturnal mammals, mostly various

s, and presumably has a more intensive searching method of hunting rather than the opportunistic hunting typical of the ornate species. In terms of predation on monkeys, a guild of avian predators and a corresponding forest wild cat appear rather neatly partitioned by the size of monkeys being hunted: '' Spizaetus'' eagles as well as other relatively small but powerful raptors and

margay The margay (''Leopardus wiedii'') is a small wild cat native to Central and South America. A solitary and nocturnal cat, it lives mainly in primary evergreen and deciduous forest. Until the 1990s, margays were hunted illegally for the wild ...

s (''Leopardus wiedii'') select the smaller size monkey species, crested eagles and

ocelot The ocelot (''Leopardus pardalis'') is a medium-sized spotted wild cat that reaches at the shoulders and weighs between on average. It was first described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758. Two subspecies are recognized. It is native to the southwe ...

s (''Leopardus pardalis'') mainly hunt the medium-sized monkeys and harpy eagles and

s focus most exclusively on larger sized monkeys. The various forest eagles of the neotropics appear to be surprisingly tolerant of other species, with almost no aggressive interspecies interactions known in the literature. Mostly only

seem to provoke a slight aggressive reaction from the parents in nesting ornate hawk-eagles (possibly because some studies indicate that forest-foraging vultures are more commonly egg thieves than those found in more open habitats). Although, in one Guatemalan study the presence of flying black hawk-eagles and swallow-tailed kites (''Elanoides forficatus'') (which are unlikely to prey on nests) also provoked a defensive whistle by the brooding female ornate hawk-eagle. Indicating a lack of interspecies aggression, one active harpy eagle nest was set with a

camera trap A camera trap is a camera that is automatically triggered by a change in some activity in its vicinity, like presence of an animal or a human being. It is typically equipped with a motion sensor – usually a passive infrared (PIR) senso ...

captured photographs of a pair of ornate hawk-eagles in a breeding display in the immediate vicinity of the nest, with both species apparently indifferent to each other's presence.

Breeding

Ornate hawk-eagles, like most but not all raptors, live solitarily or in pairs. Breeding territories are maintained through high circling, either by a solo adult or by a pair. Most displays occur in mid to late morning and are usually at fairly low heights with occasional calling. Sometimes one bird breaks into

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group compris ...

-like flight with shallow flutters during display. Other noisy acrobatics are engaged by the male while the female perches, some of which are correlated with courtship. In a mutual display, the pair gliding in tight circles, the male approaching the female from above and behind, as the female rolls to her back and they engage in talon grabbing, occasionally touching. The aerial display of the ornate hawk-eagle can escalate into roller coaster sky-dance involving series of dives at about 45 degrees on half-closed wings interspersed with heavy looking climbs and floppy beats with looping gyrations and occasionally a complete loop. Home range size is variable in different seasons, from and estimated density can vary from one 1 bird per to 13 birds per in parts of

and

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label= French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic coast of South America in the Guianas ...

, respectively. In

, adult birds of both sexes used an average of , occasionally ranging up to at least . Here the mean nearest nest distance was estimated at .Julio, A., Madrid, M., Héctor, D., Sixto, H., Funes, A., Lopez, J., Botzoc, G.R. & Ramos, A. (1991). ''Reproductive biology and behavior of the Ornate Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus ornatus) in Tikal National Park''. Maya Project: use of raptors and other fauna as environmental indices for design and management of protected areas for building local capacity for conservation in Latin America, progress report IV. The Peregrine Fund Inc., Boise, ID USA, 93-13. In the much sparser population of the

Atlantic Forest The Atlantic Forest ( pt, Mata Atlântica) is a South American forest that extends along the Atlantic coast of Brazil from Rio Grande do Norte state in the northeast to Rio Grande do Sul state in the south and inland as far as Paraguay and th ...

, it was estimated that there was one pair per each . In the Petén area of

there is an estimated nesting density of one pair per .Bierregaard, R. O. (1994). ''Ornate Hawk-Eagle. Spizaetus ornatus''. Page 205 in J. del Hoyo, A. Elliot, and J. Sargatal (editors), Handbook of the birds of the world. Volume 2, New World vultures to Guineafowl. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. The Tikal studies shows evidence of pairs shifting their territorial boundaries, in some cases this has been apparently and surprisingly due to the intrusion of another ornate hawk-eagle. Per the study: "Perhaps in these formidably armed bird predators, territory occupants sometimes readjust their patterns of spatial use rather risk outright aggressive contest". Ornate hawk-eagles can typically only breed every other year, unless a prior year's nesting attempt fails. Breeding cycles are known to be more prolonged in tropic raptors than in those that dwell in temperate zones. Also tropical species usually have smaller brood sizes. The dichotomy in breeding habits is often most extreme in forest-dwelling tropical raptor species, which in large species tend to have an extremely prolonged post-fledging care stage for young raptors.Blake, E. R. (1977). ''Manual of Neotropical birds (Vol. 1)''. University of Chicago Press. The breeding season of ornate hawk-eagles normally falls between December and September in

, while it is largely in August–January in

. Courtship and nesting behavior were seen in

during August to October (later in the year than nearby black hawk-eagles, implying a temporal difference in nesting times for the two species).Canuto, M. (2008). ''Observations of two hawk-eagle species in a humid lowland tropical forest reserve in central Panama''. Journal of Raptor Research, 42(4), 287-293. In

, nest building is around November while in

was reportedly in March. This species seemingly lays its clutches in the

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The ...

and fledges in the early

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the sea ...

. In

, the mean egg laying time was mid-March, while in

it was similar but slightly earlier in March. In the extensive studies from

, eggs were laid variously anytime from November to May, but 83% were between January and April. Meanwhile, in the

area of

egg laying peaks in August, although

copulation Sexual intercourse (or coitus or copulation) is a sexual activity typically involving the insertion and thrusting of the penis into the vagina for sexual pleasure or reproduction.Sexual intercourse most commonly means penile–vaginal penetra ...

has been witnessed as long before than as in June, which may imply a particularly prolonged courtship stage. Copulation typically lasts for 6–12 seconds with 60 copulations recorded in 204 hours of observation.

Nests

This species builds a bulky, large stick nest that is generally typical of an accipitrid. Nests are exclusively located in trees. The nest height is often above the ground. Two nests in

were about both in trees of a total height of around while, in

, the nest height of 3 were from in trees of a total height of . In

, 14 nests were found to be at anywhere from above the ground with an average of and an average total nesting tree height of . Nest heights in the

were between . Tree species are often variable, the most significant factor in the seeming selection of nesting trees is that it is often the tallest tree in the forest stand, emerging above the average canopy height. In

, 6 nests were in Honduran mahogany (''Swietenia macrophylla''), 4 were in kapok or ceiba trees (''Ceiba pentandra''), two in invasive black olive (''Olea europaea'') and single nests in various genera such as ''

Ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extendi ...

'', '' Piscidia'', '' Cedrela'', ''

Pouteria ''Pouteria'' is a genus of flowering trees in the gutta-percha family, Sapotaceae. The genus is widespread throughout the tropical regions of the world. It includes the canistel ('' P. campechiana''), the mamey sapote ('' P. sapota''), and the l ...

'' and ''

Calophyllum ''Calophyllum'' is a genus of tropical flowering plants in the family Calophyllaceae. They are mainly distributed in Asia, with some species in Africa, the Americas, Australasia, and the Pacific Islands. History Members of the genus ''Calophyllu ...

''. Further studies show that ceiba trees are popular elsewhere in the northern part of the range. Nests are placed in relatively exposed branches, often being on the main crutch of the tree or the largest, most bare branch (in comparison, black hawk-eagle nests are more difficult to find since they are typically inside the denser foliage of the canopy). Typical sized nests are about across and about deep. 16 nests in

averaged in diameter and in outer depth. In the

area of Brazil, a single nest was a relatively large in diameter. In

one nest was observed to be diameter by deep. One record sized nest in terms of depth apparently reached deep and included sticks of up to diameter.

Eggs

Ornate hawk-eagles typically lay only a single egg. All nests of the species in the wild are known to contain only a single egg. Single egg clutches are also laid by other '' Spizaetus'' hawk-eagles.Kiff, L. F., & Cunningham, M. (1980). ''The egg of the Ornate Hawk Eagle (Spizaetus ornatus)''. Journal of Raptor Research, 14, 51. However, in captivity, at least one female has been known to lay a two egg clutch. The eggs are mainly white in color sparingly overlaid with brownish or brown-red splotches. In texture, the eggs are not glossy and are somewhat pitted to the touch. In

, the eggs averaged (in a sample of four) and weighed typically about . The two egg clutch recorded in captivity differed in many respects from those of wild Guatemalan hawk-eagles. They were smaller, the first measuring and weighing , the second measuring and weighing . Additionally, instead of being whitish with faint brown or reddish spotting, they were unspotted and bluish-white in color.

Parental behavior

Prior to egg-laying, the female may remain in the area of the nest 97.2% of the time while the male was in the vicinity only 30.4% of the time in

. Both prior to egg laying and during incubation, the female of the pair often collects green leaves to line the nest bowl, doing so nearly every day both in Guatemala and the

area of

. The female takes a lion's share of the incubation duties. For example, records from Guatemala and Belize show she incubates about 95-97% of observed hours. In 127 hours in Guatemala, she left her egg unattended only for a period of 9 minutes. Incubation lasted for 43 to 48 days in

while in

incubation was for 44 to 46 days. As in most accipitrids, males usually capture prey and bring it to the female throughout incubation. When delivering prey, the male and female may call back and forth for several minutes before exchanging the prey item. Furthermore, in Guatemala, the male would relieve the female for any amount of time from 9 minutes to 68 minutes while the female fed, in Brazil he never approached the nest but in one case attempted to and was aggressively displaced by his larger mate. Prey deliveries are done foot-to-foot, and in

the females would immediately behead each mammal or remove the beak from each bird prey item brought to her. During both incubation and subsequent to hatching, both parents may defend their offspring from potential predators, but especially the female.

Vultures A vulture is a bird of prey that scavenges on carrion. There are 23 extant species of vulture (including Condors). Old World vultures include 16 living species native to Europe, Africa, and Asia; New World vultures are restricted to North and ...

seem to provoke an aggressive response in different parts of the range, consisting of the female raising her crest, mantling over her egg and calling loudly. Egg-eating mammals seem to provoke a more active anti-predator defense. In

red-faced spider monkey The red-faced spider monkey (''Ateles paniscus'') also known as the Guiana spider monkey or red-faced black spider monkey, is a species of spider monkey found in the rain forests in northern South America. The species faces issues with hunting ...

s (''Ateles paniscus'') were seen to be attacked and swooped upon by the female, but in a second encounter during which the monkey troop returned, she remained on the nest. Similar anti-predator behavior was observed in Guatemala, where Geoffroy's spider monkeys (''Ateles geoffroyi'') were flown at and struck until they left the vicinity. In another Guatemalan encounter, a tayra (''Eira barbara''), a large arboreal

mustelid The Mustelidae (; from Latin ''mustela'', weasel) are a family of carnivorous mammals, including weasels, badgers, otters, ferrets, martens, minks and wolverines, among others. Mustelids () are a diverse group and form the largest family in t ...

, was observed to be scaling a nest tree and was knocked out of the tree by the female hawk-eagle twice, fleeing after the second time this occurred. Studies from Guatemala show that humans also draw the ire of the female ornate hawk-eagle. It was found that while climbing to a tree blind near the nest tree that females regularly struck researchers, often causing lacerations even with protective gear on, and were rated as considerably more aggressive in nest defense than black hawk-eagles and crested eagles. In

, a researcher was struck instead by the male of an ornate hawk-eagle pair. In the

, perhaps because of a larger regional human population causing more shyness or desensitization to human activities, female ornate hawk-eagles were less aggressive to humans in the nest vicinity and did not respond even to workers using

chainsaw A chainsaw (or chain saw) is a portable gasoline-, electric-, or battery-powered saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar. It is used in activities such as tree felling, limbing, bucking, pru ...

s within of the nest.

Nesting development

Parque Estadual do Turvo Anderson Cristiano Hendgen (02)

The hatching date in this species is, of course, dependent on when the eggs are laid. Studies from the

area showed 90% of hatching occurred between February and June, peaking between late April and early May. It is likely that the hatching period here is timed with the peak time for fledging of other bird species for easy prey capture. Hatching was observed at a single nest in

in March. In

, hatching occurred in September. In

, the hatchling eagle was found to measure in length and weigh . The studies from

and

describe details of the nestling development over time. Like most birds, and especially birds of prey, the hatchlings are initially

altricial In biology, altricial species are those in which the young are underdeveloped at the time of birth, but with the aid of their parents mature after birth. Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the mome ...

. In this species, the eaglets are still unable to lift their heads at 2–4 days old. By about two weeks of age, the young eaglet can start to stand on its folded leg within the nest. The begging calls will increase at about 3 weeks of age. A case in Guatemala of a 16-day-old nestling trying to feed itself and defecate over the nest edge is considered rather early for both behaviors. At 36 days, the young hawk-eagle may begin to peck at carcasses but at 49 days cannot still effectively fed itself, with the first food tearing and eating recorded at between 52 and 54 days of age. At 39 days, the feathers of the wing and the tail begin to overtake the down. By the 8th week, the eaglet should be able to stand, wing flap and play with sticks within the nest. A week later, the young tend to be markedly more independent, largely feeding themselves on the carcasses their parents provide and ranging out of the nest for the first time on branches up to from their nest, often flapping their wings a considerable amount.

Fledging Fledging is the stage in a flying animal's life between hatching or birth and becoming capable of flight. This term is most frequently applied to birds, but is also used for bats. For altricial birds, those that spend more time in vulnerable ...

may occur at any age from 60 to 93 days. The average age at fledgling was estimated as 77.5 days in

while in

it was similarly in the range of 70 to 84 days. At 12 weeks, the full juvenile plumage is attained. Despite the full plumage and powers of flight, the juvenile hawk-eagles continue to linger in the vicinity of the nest, typically venturing no further than from the nest for months. The young eagles often continue to beg loudly for food, especially once their parents are in view, but if their crop is full they often retire to quietly sit in dense foliage. In one case from Brazil, the juvenile eagle was observed to fly up to greet one of its parents and grabbed the prey item without landing before continuing to a nearby perch. In Guatemala, 3 young males were still in away from the nest at 5 months of age. In the same area, 2 females of 9 months age were typically away from the nest while another two young females of the same age were at an average distance from the nest of . At 11–12 months, the juveniles may begin to soar around their parents' territory. 3 females in Tikal gradually increase their wanderings at 12–14 months old, ranging anywhere from to from the nest. Around a year of age, the juvenile eagles are likely to make their first attempts to hunt prey. The minimum age at which independence appears to be possible for ornate hawk-eagles is around 11.5–12 months. The average age of independence in studies from

was found to 15.4 months of age for 13 banded juveniles. More poorly known is the age of maturity, which has been estimated at only two years, a matter of months after independence and when the hawk-eagles appear to enter their subadult plumage stage. There is little inconvertible evidence that the species begins breeding at any younger than three years of age. At least one case in

was observed of a pair both in subadult plumage that was breeding, however. While breeding success rates are not known for this species this same subadult breeding pair was observed to kill and

cannibalize Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, bo ...

a juvenile from another territory. When a nest was in imminent risk of flooding from the overflow of a nearby reservoir in southern Brazil, a pair of ornate hawk-eagles appeared to accept translocation when researchers relocated an entire nest intact with nestling in tow to nearby tree, at away. In interspecies comparisons, Tikal studies showed that black hawk-eagles are independent slightly faster at around 12 months old but, like the ornate, also reach maturity roughly in the zone of 2 to 3 years of age while crested eagles take 22.7–30 months until independence and start breeding somewhere around 3 to 4 years of age.Greeney, H. F., Gelis, R. A., & White, R. (2004). ''Notes on breeding birds from an Ecuadorian lowland forest''. BULLETIN-BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS CLUB, 124(1), 28-37. In many of the larger eagles, including the harpy eagle, whether tropical or temperate zone dwelling, the minimum age of maturity seems to be around 5 years of age and in some large Afro-tropical species, possibly ranges up to more than 7 years of age.Steyn, P. (1983). ''Birds of prey of southern Africa: Their identification and life histories''. Croom Helm, Beckenham (UK). 1983.

Status

Histoire naturelle des oiseaux d'Afrique (8597075147)

The ornate hawk-eagle is, like many large birds of prey, probably naturally scarce. However, the species has shown a marked declining trend. Therefore, in 2012, the species was uplisted to

. Currently the total population is estimated at between 13,300 and 33,300 individuals, a very small population considering the species' ample range. Various means of analysis in the

all showed it to be least densely populated of the three species of '' Spizaetus'' in the area. In particular, when compared to the black hawk-eagle, the ornate hawk-eagle is much less tolerant of partial deforestation and human disturbance and is generally rather more scarce. For example, in the fragmented forest of Paranapiacaba,

, the black hawk-eagle was recorded 2.5 times more frequently during surveys than the ornate species. The species is

locally extinct Local extinction, also known as extirpation, refers to a species (or other taxon) of plant or animal that ceases to exist in a chosen geographic area of study, though it still exists elsewhere. Local extinctions are contrasted with global extinct ...

in several former parts of the range. It is thought to have gone extinct early due to increased extensive 19th century colonization in

Tumbes, Peru Tumbes is a city in northwestern Peru, on the banks of the Tumbes River. It is the capital of the Tumbes Region, as well as of Tumbes Province and Tumbes District. Located near the border with Ecuador, Tumbes has 111,595 inhabitants as of 2015 ...

as well as the

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará) often called Belém of Pará, is a Brazilian city, capital and largest city of the state of Pará in ...

and probably the São Francisco regions of

. More recently, the continued presence of breeding ornate hawk-eagles was considered doubtful or at critical threat level in western

and local biologists considered the species to be extirpated from

. Evidence indicates declines are likely occurring in almost every part of the species' distribution. Biologists working in

Southeastern Brazil The Southeast Region of Brazil ( pt, Região Sudeste do Brasil; ) is composed of the states of Espírito Santo, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. It is the richest region of the country, responsible for approximately 60% of the Brazilian ...

felt that the species, though still present, should be uplisted to regionally critically endangered. Increases or apparent breeding records of the species in new areas are likely not correlated to actual population increases but are more likely cases of the species being driven from adjacent areas as habitats become unacceptable, accounting for increased records of the species at drier forests (i.e. in

) or in higher elevations (i.e. in

). What were considered possible range expansions in different areas of

, such as the

Caatinga Caatinga (, ) is a type of semi-arid tropical vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil. The name "Caatinga" is a Tupi word meaning "white forest" or "white vegetation" (''caa'' = forest, v ...

(

Serra das Confusões National Park The Serra das Confusões National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional da Serra das Confusões) is a national park in the state of Piauí, Brazil. Geography The Serra das Confusões National Park is in the municipalities of Alvorada do Gurguéia, Brejo ...

) and

, as well as in northwestern

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, may be more likely mere cases of more extensive bird surveying in previously little studied areas. The ornate hawk eagle has a status of rare but persisting on Panamanian islands, Coiba and

Barro Colorado Island Barro Colorado Island is located in the man-made Gatun Lake in the middle of the Panama Canal. The island was formed when the waters of the Chagres River were dammed to form the lake in 1913. When the waters rose, they covered a significant par ...

. The leading cause, by far, for the species decline is epidemic levels of

. The terribly extensive deforestation of several areas of the neotropics, particularly the

, was the catalyst for the species being uplisted in 2012. Declines are correlated to deforestation in most parts of the species' range, all the way from the northern limits in

down to the southern limits in

. Even where lands become protected, it is in many cases too late due to forest fragmentation prior to conservation, resulting in stands too fragmented to support extensive use by the ornate hawk-eagles.

Canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an ...

coverage of the forest must be at least 80% in order to retain this hawk-eagle, per a study of its habitat ranging in

Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve The Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve or Biósfera Los Tuxtlas, is a biosphere reserve located in the coastal and higher elevations of the Sierra de los Tuxtlas, in Los Tuxtlas of Veracruz state, in south eastern Mexico. Ecoregion The area is notab ...

. Beyond deforestation, human hunting is also causing declines of this species. In part this is due to competition for resources. For example, studies in

showed that 49.4% of the biomass at ornate hawk-eagle nests was overlapping with the wild animals most extensively hunted by local humans (i.e. cracids,

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. ...

s). Also, where domestic

s are found, they are opportunistically hunted by ornate hawk-eagle. Due to the causes of wild prey competition and predation of domestic fowl, humans frequently target and shot this and other eagles on sight, even without direct provocation. Little overarching conservation efforts are known to have been implemented specifically pertaining to this species' declines, beyond the general retention and conservation of existing forests.Thiollay, J. M. (1989). ''Area requirements for the conservation of rain forest raptors and game birds in French Guiana''. Conservation Biology, 3(2), 128-137.

References

External links

* ttp://www.bird-stamps.org/cspecies/3023400.htm Stamps(for

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

, and

)
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{{Taxonbar, from=Q602388 ornate hawk-eagle ornate hawk-eagle Birds of Central America Birds of Colombia Birds of Venezuela Birds of Ecuador Birds of the Guianas Birds of Trinidad and Tobago Birds of the Amazon Basin Birds of Brazil Birds of Bolivia Birds described in 1800, ornate hawk-eagle

Taxonomy

Description

Confusion species

Vocalization

Range and habitat

Dietary habits

Interspecies relations

Breeding

Nests

Eggs

Parental behavior

Nesting development

Status

References

Further reading

External links