COMMON NAME: Harris’ Hawk (also known as the bay-winged hawk) SCIENTIFIC NAME: Parabuteo unicinctus

IDENTIFYING CHARACTERISTICS: The Harris’ hawk is a large, long-tailed, broad-winged hawk about 18 inches long with a wingspan of 43 inches. It has a chocolate-brown head and neck and a short, dark, hooked beak with a yellow cere. The tail is dark (black in adult birds) with a white base and terminal band.

RANGE: Common in the southwestern United States and most of South America.

HABITAT: Sparse woodland or semi-desert

NESTING: They build a simple platform nest of sticks, twigs, weeds, and roots, lined with moss or a similar material. The nest is rarely more than 30 feet above the ground. The lay two to four eggs, incubation is 33 to 36 days.

FEEDING HABITS: Mainly small to medium-sized rodents. It is also known to take birds – often in flight – lizards, insects, and mammals up to the size of a full-grown rabbit. There is some evidence that it also eats carrion when prey is in short supply.

CONSERVATION STATUS: This bird is common in its range. There is evidence that the species is spreading northwards into the United States.