White Hawk - Distribution and Ecology

Distribution and Ecology

This is a bird of lowland forest and other woodlands. It ranges from southern Mexico through Central and South America to Peru, Bolivia and Brazil. It also breeds on Trinidad. The White Hawk's range in central South America is the entire Amazon Basin, from the Andes on the west to the Guianas on the Atlantic on the northeast, and to the transition lands to the south. A widespread species, it is usually not common, but the IUCN considers it not to be globally threatened due to the large extent of its range.

The White Hawk feeds mainly on reptiles with some insects and mammals, caught in a sortie from a perch. It associates with foraging groups of Tufted Capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) and South American Coatis (Nasua nasua) to snatch prey startled by these animals. This species is often seen soaring, and has a spectacular aerial courtship display.

It builds a large stick platform nest in a tree and usually lays one dark-blotched blue-white egg. An attended nest was observed in Ecuador in mid-August.