The broad-winged hawk (Buteo platypterus) is a medium-sized hawk of the genus Buteo. During the summer, some subspecies are distributed over eastern North America, as far west as British Columbia and Texas; they then migrate south to winter in the Neotropics from Mexico south to southern Brazil. As in most raptors, females are slightly larger than males. Broad-winged hawks' wings are relatively short and broad with a tapered, somewhat pointed appearance. The two types of coloration are a dark morph with fewer white areas and a light morph that is more pale overall. Although the broad-winged hawk's overall population is increasing, populations are declining in some parts of its breeding range because of forest fragmentation.

Description

thumb|left|upright|Broad-winged hawk at [[Isle Royale National Park]]

left|thumb| Sheepshead Sanctuary South Padre Island - Texas

left|thumb|Molting feather pattern, only visible in May/June

The broad-winged hawk is a relatively small Buteo, with a body size from in length and weighing . The tail is relatively short, measuring in length. The tarsus measures from .

  • B. p. platypterus – <small>(Vieillot, 1823)</small>: The northern broad-winged hawk occurs throughout much of continental eastern North America.
  • B. p. brunnescens – <small>Danforth & Smyth, 1935</small>: The Puerto Rican broad-winged hawk occurs in the karst forests of Puerto Rico. Fledglings learn to emit the call by the time they are one month old. When confronted with a threat, broad-winged hawks emit an alarm call consisting of stuttered and squealing whistles.

Diet

thumb|Broad-winged hawk with a snake at Pine Island State Forest, Minnesota

Broad-winged hawks are carnivores. The types of food they eat depends on the time of year and consists of whichever insects, amphibians, reptiles, mammals (ranging from mice to small rabbits), and birds (up to the size of grouse and New World quails) are available at any given time. During the summer or nesting season the parents and ultimately their chicks eat small animals such as chipmunks, shrews, and voles, frogs, lizards, and sometimes even other nesting birds like cardinals, as well as sick or injured birds. To catch their prey, broad-winged hawks watch from low branches, hiding in the foliage, until a target is spotted. From their roost they do a short, fast glide to capture the prey. They give special attention to preparing their food for consumption, skinning frogs and snakes and plucking prey birds' feathers. Most small mammals, though, are eaten whole. They rarely drink water and are able to survive solely with the water present in their prey.

Reproduction

These birds have only one mate during the breeding season, possibly because the male also helps a small amount with the rearing of the chicks.

References

  • Broad-winged Hawk: Wind-surfers of the sky – Smithsonian Migratory Bird Center
  • for Antigua, Colombia, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Nevis, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines at

Historical material

  • "Falco pennsylvanicus, Broad-winged Hawk"; in American Ornithology 2nd edition, volume 1 (1828) by Alexander Wilson and George Ord.
  • "The Broad-winged Hawk", John James Audubon, Ornithological Biography volume 1 (1831). Illustration from Birds of America octavo edition, 1840.
  • "Broad-winged Hawk", Thomas Nuttall, A manual of the ornithology of the United States and of Canada; volume 1, The Land Birds (1832).