Buteo platypterus platypterus

(Vieillot, 1823)

Vernacular names
English : Broad-winged hawk
French : Buse à queue rousse

Classification
Class : Aves
Order : Accipitriformes
Family : Accipitridae
Notes : 5 other subspecies known.

Identification
Small hawk species reaching a length of 42 cm for a weight of 460 g and a wingspan of 96 cm. White chin and forehead. Brownish plumage with red tinge on breast. Belly banded rufous and white. White rump. Black and white tail.

Range and habitat
This species breeds in southern Canada and eastern half of USA. Winters from south-west Mexico to Bolivia and western Brazil. Also in Caribbean islands. Lives in mixed woodlands with open areas and marshes nearby, up to 3000 meters.

Conservation
IUCN RED LIST : LEAST CONCERN
CITES : Appendix II
Status : The species remains very common in most of its range. Local declines due to hunting. Caribbean races are declining, some of them endangered.
Ex-Situ Programs : None known

Observation

 

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