The white-browed hawk (''Leucopternis kuhli'') is a species of

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 ...

in subfamily

Accipitrinae The Accipitrinae are the subfamily of the Accipitridae often known as the "true" hawks, including all members of '' Accipiter'' and the closely related genera ''Microspizias'', '' Erythrotriorchis'', and ''Megatriorchis''. The large and wide ...

, the "true" hawks, of 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 ...

.Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 July 2022. A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithological Society. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCBaseline.htm retrieved July 24, 2022 It is found Bolivia,

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 ...

, 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 ...

.Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, T. A. Fredericks, J. A. Gerbracht, D. Lepage, S. M. Billerman, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2022. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2022. Downloaded from https://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/ retrieved November 10, 2022

Taxonomy and systematics

The white-browed hawk and the black-faced hawk (''L. melanops'') are

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 ...

and have sometimes been considered

conspecific Biological specificity is the tendency of a characteristic such as a behavior or a biochemical variation to occur in a particular species. Biochemist Linus Pauling stated that "Biological specificity is the set of characteristics of living organis ...

. They share genus ''Leucopternis'' with the semiplumbeous hawk (''L. semiplumbeus''). The white-browed hawk is

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...

Description

The white-browed hawk is long with a wingspan. Females are larger than males and both sexes have the same plumage. They have a dark head with a narrow white stripe above the eye. Their upperparts are black with white streaks on their nape and mantle. Their tail is black with a wide white band at the midpoint. Their underparts are white. Their eye is brown or reddish brown and their

cere The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for eating, preening, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food ...

, legs, and feet are orange.Bierregaard, R. O., G. M. Kirwan, and P. F. D. Boesman (2020). White-browed Hawk (''Leucopternis kuhli''), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.whbhaw2.01 retrieved December 10, 2022

Distribution and habitat

The white-browed hawk is found south of the Amazon River. It occurs in eastern Peru between the departments of Loreto and Madre de Dios, in northern and northeastern Bolivia, and in Brazil to the Atlantic coast in

Pará Pará is a state of Brazil, located in northern Brazil and traversed by the lower Amazon River. It borders the Brazilian states of Amapá, Maranhão, Tocantins, Mato Grosso, Amazonas and Roraima. To the northwest are the borders of Guyana ...

state. It inhabits tropical rainforest between sea level and of elevation.

Behavior

Movement

The white-browed hawk appears to be sedentary.

Feeding

The white-browed hawk hunts near the forest floor. Its diet has not been studied but it has been observed taking a snake and a lizard and is thought to also feed on frogs and large insects.

Breeding

The white-browed hawk's breeding biology is almost unknown. The one described nest was in western Brazil in December and was thought to hold eggs. It was a small platform of sticks, twigs, and leaves placed in the subcanopy about above the ground.

Vocalization

The white-browed hawk's call is "a high-pitched rather thin downslurred whistle 'keeeeuw' given at intervals."

Status

The IUCN has assessed the white-browed hawk as being of least concern. It has a large range but its population size is not known and is believed to be decreasing. No immediate threats have been identified. The species is poorly known, "but so much forest in its extensive range remains intact that hespecies can not be considered of immediate concern."

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1585484 white-browed hawk Birds of the Amazon Basin Birds of the Peruvian Amazon Birds of the Bolivian Amazon white-browed hawk white-browed hawk Taxonomy articles created by Polbot