THE WORLD BIRDS - An Online Bird Book
RAPTORS - Hawks
Raptors are birds of prey. They are carnivorous, long lived, and have low reproductive rates. They catch their prey via strong claws – three pointing forward and one pointing backward. The raptors that hunt by day are: hawks, eagle, kites, vultures, falcons. Owls hunt by night. The raptors are spread over a number of orders: Accipitriformes (hawks and allies), Cathartiformes (New World vultures), Falconiformes (falcons), Strigiformes (owls).
Unlike most other birds, or mammals for that matter, almost all female raptors are larger than their male counterpart. There is no consensus as why evolution worked this way for the raptor. The theory I like best is that the bigger female can defend the nest better, while the smaller male is more agile and can find lots of little prey to bring home to the nest. That is, when the chicks are young, they need lots of little tidbits, not one humungous carcass. A side benefit of having male and female being different in size is that they tend to go after different food sources so that way they are not competing with each other for food. But if males were the bigger ones, that diversity benefit would also be true. So perhaps the overarching reason, is the male bringing home lots of tidbits.
Raptors, especially those that stalk prey from the air, tend to have dark upperparts and lighter underparts. Looking down from above a raptor, the dark upperparts tend to blend in with the ground. While looking from below, the light underparts blend better with the sky.
Many of the raptors have their conservation status listed as something other than Least Concern; that is, there is some concern about their survival. A contributing factor is that raptors need a considerable area to offer them sufficient prey. As habitats degrade, they have less area to patrol, and less prey in the remaining areas, a double whammy. Also, for millennia, raptors have been at the top of the food chain and did not need to worry about their longterm survival. As a result, they have evolved to have few offspring, sometimes only 1. Thus if a population decreases, it is hard for it to recover.
Accipitriformes
The order Accipitriformes is made of of three families: Accipitridae, Pandionidae, and Sagittariidae. Accipitridae contains the
hawks,
eagles,
kites,
Old World vultures.
Pandionidae only contains one species - the osprey, and
Sagittariidae only contains the secretary bird.
Accipitridae
Accipitrine raptors generally have broad wings with rounded ends. As indicated below, the family is divided into 9 subfamilies. The characteristics of each of the subfamilies will be given prior to a description for each of their species. A confusing factor for presenting the subfamilies is that common terms such as eagles or kites do not correspond to a specific subfamily. For example, eagles belong to two different subfamilies and kites to 5 subfamilies!
The Accipitridae family has the following subfamiles:
Aquilinae – booted eagles
Circaetinae – serpent eagles
Harpiinae – forest eagles
Accipitrinae – accipitrine hawks
Buteoninae – buteonine hawks
Harpaginae – harpagine hawks
Melieraxinae – melieraxine hawks
Elaninae – elanine kites
Perninae – honey-buzzards
Gypaetinae – gypaetine vultures and harrier-hawks
Gypinae – Old World vultures
Hawks

Red-tailed Hawk Image by Shelly_Prevost
This article contains species from the following Accipitridae subfamilies:
Accipitrinae – accipitrine hawks,
Buteoninae – buteonine hawks,
Harpaginae – harpagine hawks,
and
Melieraxinae – melieraxine hawks. It also contains 5 kite species that are listed in tribe
Milvini and as part of the Buteoninae hawks. The placement of that tribe is debatable.
Accipitrinae – accipitrine hawks
The two main genera of this subfamily are Accipter which has 45 pecies and Circus which has 13 species. There are 3 other species spread over tow additional genera.
The raptors of
Accipiter are called
hawks,
goshawks, and
sparrowhawks. These birds are slender with short broad rounded wings and a long tail which helps them maneuver in flight. They have long legs and long sharp talons used to kill their prey, and a sharp hooked bill used in feeding. Females tend to be larger than males. They often ambush their prey, mainly small birds and mammals, capturing it after a short agile chase. The typical flight pattern is a series flaps (often 2) followed by a short glide. These hawks usually stalk their prey by sitting in a tree which implies that are not usually found in areas without any trees. On the other hand, the wooded area should not be do dense that they can not see their prey or manoouver to chase them. The Eurasian sparrowhawk is smallest of the genus with the male weighing under 85 grams andthe female under 105 g. The northern goshawk can be more than 10 times heavier with male up to 1100 grams and the female up to 1400 g.
The raptor of
Circus aer called
harriers. The mostly hunt by flying low over open ground such as grassland or marshes, feeding on small mammals, reptiles, or birds. These harriers have a slim body, narrow wings and a long tail. Harriers nest on the ground. Males and females have distinct plumage.
Genus Accipiter
See
Melierax for more Goshawks.
Besra Accipiter virgatus
Image by: 1)
Robert_tdc 2)
Ash7103 3)
Hiyashi_Haka


Goshawk,_African Accipiter tachiro
Image by: 1)
Dick Daniels -
Radical Raptors, South Africa 2)
Dick -
World of Birds , South Africa 3)
Johann_du_Preez
1, 2) Female 3) Male


Goshawk,_Black-mantled Accipiter melanochlamys
Image by: 1)
Katerina_Tvardikova 2)
William_Hart

Goshawk,_Brown Accipiter fasciatus
Image by: 1)
Wayne Butterworth - juvenile 2)
Aviceda - Kurwongbah, SE Queensland
3, 4) Geoff_Whalan - Northern Territory
1) Juvenile



Goshawk,_Crested Accipiter trivirgatus
Image by: 1)
Ainus 2)
Ian Liao 3)
Francesco Veronesi - Taiwan 4)
Alex White



Goshawk,_Fiji Accipiter rufitorques
Image by: 1)
Mikes_Birds 2, 3) Aviceda


Goshawk,_Frances's Accipiter francesiae
Image by: 1)
David Cook 2)
John_Keulemans 3, 4) Frank Vassen
1) Juvenile 2) Female 3, 4) Male



Goshawk,_Grey Accipiter novaehollandiae
Image by:
1)
David Cook - Queensland, Australia
2, 3) Aviceda -
SE Queensland
4)
Kristi - Tasmania
5) White morph



Goshawk,_Gray-headed Accipiter poliocephalus
Image by: 1)
Jerry Oldenettel - Papua-New Guinea
Goshawk,_Henst's Accipiter henstii
Image by: 1)
Frakic 2)
Skip_Russell

Goshawk,_Meyer's Accipiter meyerianus
Image by: 1)
John Gerrard Keulemans
Goshawk,_Moluccan Accipiter henicogrammus
No public domain images available.
Goshawk,_New_Britain Accipiter princeps
Image by: 1)
Katerina_Tvardikova
Goshawk,_New_Caledonia Accipiter haplochrous
Image by: 1)
Joseph_Wolf 2)
Gerba1939 3)
Fred-Desmoulins


Goshawk,_Northern Accipiter gentilis
Image by: 1)
Elaine R. Wilson - British Columbia 2)
Steve Garvie - Scotland 3)
Andy_Witchger 4)
Michael Ransburg
1) Juvenile



Goshawk,_Pied Accipiter albogularis
No images in public domain.
Goshawk,_Red-chested Accipiter toussenelii
Image by: 1)
John Gerrard Keulemans
Goshawk,_Slaty-mantled Accipiter luteoschistaceus
Image by: 1)
Katerina_Tvardikova Bird images unavailable.
Goshawk,_Spot-tailed Accipiter trinotatus
Image by: 1)
Marcel_Holyoak
Goshawk,_Sulawesi Accipiter griseiceps
Image by: 1)
Joseph Wolf
Goshawk,_Variable Accipiter hiogaster
Image by: 1)
Oleg_Chernyshov 2)
Nik_Borrow 3)
lan_Wardiansyah


Hawk,_Bicolored Accipiter bicolor
Image by: 1)
Chris_Jimenez - Costa Rica 2) barloventomagico

Hawk,_Cooper's Accipiter cooperii
Image by: 1) Alan D. Wilson -
British Columbia 2)
Don Madison - New Jersey 3)
Janet and Phil - Illinois 4)
Dmitry Mozzherin
1) Juvenile



Hawk,_Gray-bellied Accipiter poliogaster
Image by: 1)
John Gerrard Keulemans 2)
Keith_Wilson - Ecuador

Hawk,_Gundlach's Accipiter gundlachi
Image by: 1)
Karel Cardet 2)
Brian Henderson

Hawk,_Sharp-shinned Accipiter striatus
Image by: 1)
Louis Agassiz Fuertes, USFWS 2)
Trisha Shears 3)
Chuck Roberts - Colorado 4)
Kelly Azar - Pennsylvania 5)
Dario Sanches
1) Cooper hawk on left, Sharp-shinned on right 2) Juvenile




Hawk,_Tiny Accipiter superciliosus
Image by: 1)
Keith Bowers 2, 3)
Felix_Uribe
1) Juvenile 2, 3) Female on left, male on right. Portrays relative size of sexes.


Shikra Accipiter badius
Image by: 1)
Karunakar Rayker 2)
Ravi Vaidyanathan 3)
Raman_Kumar
1) Juvenile


Sparrowhawk,_Black Accipiter melanoleucus
Image by:
1, 4) Ian White 2, 3) Oggmus
1) Juvenile 2) White morpht 3, 4) Black morph



Sparrowhawk,_Chestnut-flanked Accipiter castanilius
Image by: 1)
Joseph Smit
Sparrowhawk,_Chinese also
Chinese Goshawk Accipiter soloensis
Image by:
1, 4) PeiWen Chang 2, 3) Hiyashi Haka
1) Juvenile 2) Female 3) Male



Sparrowhawk,_Collared Accipiter cirrocephalus
Image by: 1)
Sunphlo 2)
Duncan_McCaskill 3)
Lip Kee


Sparrowhawk,_Eurasian Accipiter nisus
Image by:
1) Eddy Van 3000 2)
Keith Laverack - England 3)
Christian Knoch


Sparrowhawk,_Imitator Accipiter imitator
Image by: 1)
Katerina_Tvardikova No photos in public domain
Sparrowhawk,_Japanese Accipiter gularis Found: Asia, Indonesia, Philippines
Image by: 1)
Philipp Seabold 2)
Nmspec 3)
Kestrel
1) Male front, female back 2, 3) Male


Sparrowhawk,_Levant Accipiter brevipes
Image by: 1)
Lajos.rozsa 2)
Alexandros_Gassios 3)
Marcel_Holyoak


Sparrowhawk,_Little Accipiter minullus
Image by:
1, 3) Charles_Sharp - South Africa 2)
Bernard_Dupont - South Africa


Sparrowhawk,_Madagascar Accipiter madagascariensis
Image by: 1)
Halljo22 2)
Francesco_Veronesi

Sparrowhawk,_Ovambo Accipiter ovampensis
Image by: 1)
John Gerrard Keulemans 2)
Steve Garvie - Kenya 3)
Ron_Knight - Cameroon
2) Juvenile (light phase)


Sparrowhawk,_Red-thighed Accipiter erythropus
Image by: 1)
John_Gerrard_Keulemans
Sparrowhawk,_Rufous-breasted Accipiter rufiventris
Image by: 1)
Alan Manson - South Africa
2, 3) Nik Borrow - Malawi and Tanzania


Sparrowhawk,_Rufous-necked Accipiter erythrauchen
Image by: 1)
Joseph_Wolf
1) Adult and juvenile
Sparrowhawk,_Semi-collared Accipiter collaris
Image by: 1)
Joseph_Wolf
Sparrowhawk,_Small Accipiter nanus
No images in public domain.
Genus Circus
Harriers characteristically hunt by flying low over open ground such as grassland or marshes, feeding on small mammals, reptiles, or birds. These harriers have a slim body, narrow wings and a long tail. Harriers nest on the ground. Males and females have distinct plumage.
See
Polyboroides for more Harriers.
Harrier,_African Marsh- Circus ranivorus
Image by: 1)
Robert Simmons 2)
Tarique Sani - Botswana
3) Sias van Schalkwyk - South Africa


Harrier,_Black Circus maurus
Image by: 1)
Coenraad Jacob Temminck 2)
Stephen_Temple 3)
Jackie During


Harrier,_Cinereous Circus cinereus
Image by: 1)
Pete Weis 2)
Ron Knight - Argentina 3)
Hans Zwitzer - Argentina 4)
Dick Culbert - Argentina 5)
Claudio Timm - Brazil
1, 2, 3) Female 4, 5) Male




Harrier,_Eastern Marsh- Circus spilonotus
Image by:
1, 2, 4) Andy Li 3) Frankie Chu
1) Female 2 - 4) Male



Harrier,_Long-winged Circus buffoni
Image by: 1)
Dario_Sanches 2, 3)
Cláudio Timm in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil 3
1) Female 2, 3) Male


Harrier,_Montagu's Circus pygargus
Image by: 1, 3)
Tarique Sani 2)
Vitaliy Khustochka - Ukraine 4)
JV Verde - Portugal
1, 2) Female 3, 4) Male



Harrier, Hen Circus cyaneus
Image by: 1)
Stephan_Sprinz - Germany 2)
Imran_Shah - Pakistan 3)
Isle_of_Man_Government


Harrier,_Northern Circus hudsonius
Image by:
1, 2) Len Blumin - California 3) Alan D. Wilson - British Columbia 4)
juvethsk
1, 2, 3) Female 4) Male



Harrier,_Pallid Circus macrourus
Image by:
1, 2) Tarique Sani - India 3)
Yathin - India 4)
Sergey Pisarevskiy - western Siberia
1, 2) Female 3, 4) Male



Harrier,_Pied Circus melanoleucos
Image by:: 1)
Induchoodan 2) Andy Li 3)
Jerry Oldenettel - Thailand


Harrier,_Reunion Circus maillardi
Image by: 1) Dick Daniels - Madagascar 2)
Thierry Caro (Specimen )
1, 2) Female

Harrier,_Spotted Circus assimilis
Image by: 1)
Brian McCauley 2)
I_Am_birdsaspoetry.com 3)
Ron Knight - South Australia Queensland


Harrier,_Swamp Circus approximans
Image by: 1)
Richard Mowll - New Zealand 2) Dave Young
3, 4) Wayne Butterworth



Harrier,_Western Marsh- Circus aeruginosus
Image by:
1, 3) Paco_Gomez - Spain 2)
Moayed Bahajjaj 4)
Artur Mikolajewski - Lasy Janowskie, Poland
1 - 3) Female
4) Male



Genus Erythrotriorchis
Goshawk,_Chestnut-shouldered Erythrotriorchis buergersi
Image by: 1)
Katerina_Tvardikova 2)
Szabolcs Kókay

Goshawk, Red Erythrotriorchis radiatus
Image by: 1)
Aviceda 2)
Summerdrought

Genus Megatriorchis - 1 Species
Goshawk,_Doria's Megatriorchis doriae
Image by:
markaharper1
Buteoninae – buteonine hawks
This subfamily contains the following genera, where the number in parenthesis indicates the number of species in the genus:
Busarellus (1), Butastu (4), Buteo (23), Buteogallus (8), Cryptoleucopteryx (1), Geranoaetus (3), Helicolestes (1), Ictinia (2). Leucopternis (3), Morphnarchus (1). Parabuteo (2), Pseudastur (3), Rostrhamus (1), Rupornis (1).
Genus Buteo, with its 23 species, contains the hawks that this Buteoninae subfamily was named for. The three species in Geranoaetus are sometimes considered to be part of the Buteo genus. Buteos are small to large raptors. They are known as buzzards in the Old World and hawks in the New World. The favorite prey for most of these species are small mammals such are rodents. As a group they also eat birds, reptiles, insects, and carrion. They often soar on high and sprial down to seize their prey. Another common huntng technique is perching on trees, power poles, power lines, or mounds until a prey is sighted.
The next largest genus Buteogallus has 8 species. Most of these species like crabs and other large crustaceans and thus are sometimes called crab-hawks. The live in the tropics and subtropics of the Americas.
Genus Busarellus - 1 species
Hawk,_Black-collared Busarellus nigricollis
Image by:
1, 3) Jerry Oldenettel 2)
Nick Athanas - Brazil 4) Cristiano Crolle - Esteros del Iberà, Argentina



Genus Butastur
Buzzard,_Grasshopper Butastur rufipennis
Image by: 1)
Joseph Wolf 2)
Ron_Knight - Cameroon

Buzzard,_Grey-faced Butastur indicus
Image by:
M Nishimura 2)
Alpsdake - Japan

Buzzard,_Rufous-winged Butastur liventer
Image by: 1)
Jerry Oldenettel - Thailand
Buzzard,_White-eyed Butastur teesa
Image by: 1)
Koshy Koshy 2)
Shantanu Kuveskar - India
3) J M Garg
1) Juvenile


Genus Buteo
Buteos are small to large raptors. They are known as buzzards in the Old World and hawks in the New World. The favorite prey for most of these specie are small mammals such are rodents. As a group they also eat birds, reptiles, insects, and carrion. Another common huntng technique is perching on trees, power poles, powerlines, or mounds until a prey is sighted.
Buzzard,_Archer's Buteo archeri
Image by: 1)
Henrik Gronvoid
Buzzard,_Augur Buteo augur
Image by:
1, 2) Dick Daniels -
Carolina Raptor Center 3, 5
) Dick - Tanzania 4)
Charles_Sharp - Ethiopia
1, 2, 3) Melanistic form.




Buzzard,_Common Buteo Buteo
Image by:
1, 2) Dick Daniels -
Center
for Birds of Prey, Charleston, South Carolina
3) Craig Adam - South Africa 4
Andy_Li



Buzzard,_Jackal Buteo rufofuscus
Image by:
1, 2,
4) Dick Daniels -
Radical Raptors aviary in South Africa 3)
Sandy Cole near Tenikwa Cats, South Africa



Buzzard,_Long-legged Buteo rufinus
Image by: 1)
Sajahanmi 2)
Durzan Cirano 3)
Imran_Shah - Pakistan 4)
Comfortably Numb 5)
Sergey Yeliseev - Kazakhstan




Buzzard,_Madagascar Buteo brachypterus
Image by: 1)
Dick Daniels - Antananarivo Zoo, Madagascar
2) Dick - Kirindy Forest, Madagascar 3)
Fir Z 4)
Daniel Guip



Buzzard,_Mountain Buteo oreophilus
Image by: 1)
Alastair Rae 2)
Dave Curtis

Buzzard,_Upland Buteo hemilasius
Image by:
1, 2, 3, 4) Sergey Pisarevskiy - South Siberia, Russia



Hawk,_Broad-winged Buteo platypterus
Image by: 1)
Joseph Marsden - Florida 2)
Julie
Waters - Vermont 3)
Leppyone - Florida 4)
Dick - Boquette, Panama
1) Juvenile



Hawk,_Ferruginous Buteo regalis
Image by: 1)
Bill Bouton - California 2)
Dick Daniels -
Flamingo Gardens - Florida 3)
Joshua Barrnet - Arizona
4) Charlie Westerinen - Arizona 5)
Maggie Smith - California 6)
Pat Gaines
1) Juvenile 2, 3, 4) Light morph 5, 6)Dark Morph





Hawk,_Galapagos Buteo galapagoensis
Image by: 1)
Len Blumin 1)
Lip Kee 2)
Joe Le Nevez 3)
Sara Yeomans 4) Nick Athanas - Ecuador
3, 4) Dark morph



Hawk,_Grey Buteo plagiatus
Image by: 1)
Khyri - Arizona 2)
John & Anne Chullod - Arizona 3)
The Lilac Breasted Roller


Hawk,_Grey-lined Buteo nitidus
Image by: 1)
Belgian
chocolate 2) Barloventomagico - Venezuela

Hawk,_Hawaiian Buteo solitarius
Image by: 1)
Bryan Harry, NPS 2)
Mkullen 3)
Kanalu Chock 4)
cliff1066 -
Honolulu Zoo
1, 2) Light morph 3, 4) Dark morph



Hawk,_Red-shouldered Buteo lineatus
Image by:
1) Dick Daniels - Florida
2) Dick Daniels - North Carolina
3) Dick -
Carolina Raptor Center 4)
Mike Baird 5) Charlie Westerinen - Colusa, California 6)
Chuck Abbe
1) Juvenile





Hawk,_Red-tailed Buteo jamaicensis
Image by: 1)
BiteYourBum.com - California
2, 3, 4)
Dick Daniels -
Carolina Raptor Center 5)
Becky_Matsubara - California 6)
Dave Fletcher - New York 7)
Tom_Murray - Massachusetts
1) Juvenile (yellow iris)






Hawk,_Ridgway's Buteo ridgwayi
Image by:
1, 2) Ron Knight


Hawk,_Rough-legged
Buteo lagopus
Image by:: 1)
Bill Majoros 2, 3) Dick Daniels -
Carolina Raptor Center 4)
Seabamirum - New York
1 - 3) Light morph 4) Dark morph



Hawk,_Rufous-tailed Buteo ventralis
Image by: 1)
Pablo_Caceres_Contreras - Chile 2)
lornamolden
1) Juvenile

Hawk,_Short-tailed Buteo brachyurus
Image by: 1)
Amendezg - Mexico
2) Amy Evenstad 4)
Josh Henderson 3)
Dario_Sanches - Brazil
1) Juvenile male, dark morph 2) Dark morph 3) Light morph


Hawk,_Swainson's Buteo swainsoni
Image by: 1)
Pharaoh Hound - Colorado 2)
Mark Watson - New Mexico 3)
Maggie Smith - California
4) Charlie Westerinen - Baker City, Oregon 5)
Ann Kiszt 6)
Dominic Sherony
1, 2) Light 3 - 5) Intermediate 6) Dark morph




Hawk,_White-throated Buteo albigula
Image by: 1)
Pablo Contreras 2)
Andres Cuervo

Hawk,_Zone-tailed Buteo albonotatus
Image by: 1)
Mark Watson - Colorado 2)
SearchNet Media - Arizona 3)
Dominic Sherony


Genus Buteogallus
Most of these species like crabs and other large crustaceans and thus are sometimes called crab-hawks. The live in the tropics and subtropics of the Americas. Most of the species have a characteristic tail pattern which consists of a black base, a wide white middle band, a wide black band, and a narrow white terminal band. The smallest hawks of this genus are the slate-colored hawk and the white-necked hawk, both species are usually under 500 grams. Most of the other hawks can reach over 1000 grams and the two eagles in this genus can reach almost 3000 grams.
Eagle,_Black Solitary Buteogallus solitarius
Image by: 1)
Tom Friedel (
BirdPhotos.com) 2)
Sally Taylor - Ecuador

Eagle,_Chaco Buteogallus coronatus
Image by: 1)
Mateus Hidalgo 2, 3) Nori Almeida


Hawk,_Common_Black- Buteogallus anthracinus
Image by: 1)
Nick Athanas- Panama 2)
Victor Burolla 3)
Jerry Oldenettel - Venezuela 4)
Ted Grussing
1) Juvenile



Hawk,_Cuban Black- Buteogallus gundlachii
Image by:
1, 2) Carol Foil - Cuba 3)
Laura_Gouch 4)
Brian_Henderson



Hawk,_Great_Black- Buteogallus urubitinga
Image by: 1, 2)
Nick Athanas - Brazil 3)
Andrea Grosse 4) Ron Knight - Mexico
1) Juvenile



Hawk,_Savanna Buteogallus meridionalis
Image by: 1)
Nick Athanas - Brazil 3)
Dario Sanches 3)
Berrucomons 2, 4) Claudio Timm - Argentina



Hawk,_Slate-colored Buteogallus schistaceus
Image by: 1)
Vince Smith - Ecuador 2)
Jacek_Kisielewski - Brazil

Hawk,_White-necked Buteogallus lacernulatus
Image by: 1)
Rick Elis Simpson 2)
Breno Platais - Brazil 3)
Hector Bottai - Brazil


Genus Cryptoleucopteryx - 1 species
Hawk,_Plumbeous Cryptoleucopteryx plumbea
Image by: 1)
John_Gerrard_Keuleman 2)
Nick Athanas - Ecuador

Genus Geranoaetus
These hawks are sometimes included in genus
Buteo.
Buzzard-Eagle, Black-chested Geranoaetus melanoleucus
Image by: 1)
Alceu Costa - Peru 2)
Caronna 3)
Bengt_Nyman


Hawk,_Variable Geranoaetus polyosoma
Image by: 1) Nick Athanas 2)
Howard - East Falkland Island 3)
Turelio 4)
Francesco_Veronesi - Peru 5)
Marcel Holyoak - Ecuador




Hawk,_White-tailed Geranoaetus albicaudatus
Image by: 1)
Cláudio Dias Timm - Brazil 2)
sfitzgerald86 - Texas 5)
Alan and Elaine Wilson - Texas 6)
Nick Athanas - Columbia Hawk,_Dominic_Sherony
1) Juvenile



Genus Geranospiza - 1 species
Hawk,_Crane Geranospiza caerulescens
Image by: 1)
Nori Almeida 2)
Poty2002 3)
Jerry Oldenettel
1) Dark morph


Genus Helicolestes - 1 species
Kite,_Slender-billed Helicolestes hamatus
Image by: 1)
Claudio Timm 2)
Hector_Bottai - Brazil

Genus Ictinia
The two species in this genus have mainly grey plumage, a square tail, and primarly eat insects which theu catch on the fly.
Kite,_Mississippi Ictinia mississippiensis
Image by: 1)
Duane Bryce 2) Lotus Dreamer - Oklahoma
3, 4)
Dick Daniels -
Carolina Raptor Center 5)
Vijay_Somalinga - Oklahoma
1) Juvenile





Kite,_Plumbeous Ictinia plumbea
Image by: 1)
Barloventomagico - Venezuela
2) Harmony on Planet Earth - Panama 3)
Alastair Rae - Brazil 4)
Wagner Lemes 5)
Ron Knight - Argentina
1) Juvenile




Genus Leucopternis
These South American hawks have black or dark grey upperparts, white underparts, and an orange cere.
Hawk,_Black-faced Leucopternis melanops
Image by: 1)
Tony Morris 2)
Nick Athanas - Venezuela 3)
Hector_Bottai - Brazil


Hawk,_Semiplumbeous Leucopternis semiplumbeus
Image by: 1)
Michael Woodruff 2)
Jerry Oldenettel - Costa Rica 3)
Nick Athanas - Costa Rica


Hawk,_White-browed Leucopternis kuhli
Image by: 1)
Josleph Smit 2)
Nick Athanas - Brazil

Genus Morphnarchus - 1 species
Hawk,_Barred Morphnarchus princeps
Image by: 1)
Luis_Perez 2)
Victor - Costa Rica 3)
Nick Athanas - Ecuador


Genus Parabuteo
Hawk,_Harris's Parabuteo unicinctus
Image by:
1, 2) Alan D Wilson -
Texas
3) Dick -
Center for Birds of Prey,
Charleston, South Carolina 4)
Mark Watson - New Mexico
1) Juvenile



Hawk,_White-rumped Parabuteo leucorrhous .
Image by: 1)
Quoy_and_Gaimard
Genus Pseudastur
Hawk,_Grey-backed Pseudastur occidentalis
Image by: 1)
Francesco Veronesi - Ecuador 2, 3) Nick Athanas - Ecuador


Hawk,_Mantled Pseudastur polionotus
Image by: 1)
Joseph Smit 2)
Nick Athanas - Brazil

Hawk,_White Pseudastur albicollis
Image by:
1, 2) Dominic Sherony 3, 4) Nick Athanas - Ecuador, Columbia



Genus Rostrhamus - 1 species
Kite,_Snail Rostrhamus sociabilis
Image by:
1, 3, 4)
Dario Sanches 2) Cláudio Timm - Brazil
1, 2) Female 3) Juvenile male 4) Male



Genus Rupornis - 1 species
The roadside hawk used to be listed with the
Buteo species
Hawk,_Roadside Rupornis magnirostris
Image by: 1, 3) Nick Athanas - Brazil, Venezuela 2)
Dario Sanches 4)
Carlos_Henrique
1) Juvenile



Harpaginae – harpagine hawks
Some list this subfamily as containing the following genera: Harpagus, Hieraspiza, and Kaupifalco. Genus Hieraspiza used to contain one species, the little hawk, which is now assigned the scientific identifier
Accipiter superciliosus. As a result there are now only 3 species in this subfamily:
the double-toothed kite (
Harpagus bidentatus), the rufous-thighed kite (
Harpagus diodon), and the lizard buzzard (
Kaupifalco monogrammicus).
Genus Harpagus
These are small kites. They have pale tails with dark bars, a white throat with a dark stripe down the middle, and a blunt bill with two notches on each side of the upper mandible.
Kite,_Double-toothed Harpagus bidentatus
Image by: 1)
Barloventomagiico - Venezuela
2, 3) Joule_e 4)
Ben Tavener - Ecuador
1) Juvenile



Kite,_Rufous-thighed Harpagus diodon
Image by: 1)
Rick Simpson
Genus Kaupifalco - 1 species
The lizard has been placed with Buteo hawks, but DNA studies indicate that it is closer to Accipiter hawks. Also it has pointed and fairly short wings which is another characteristic of Accipiter hawks.
Buzzard,_Lizard Kaupifalco monogrammicus
Image by: 1)
Gabriel Buissart 2)
Brian Ralphs - Mozambique 3)
francesco_veronesi


Melieraxinae – melieraxine hawks
Genus Melierax
The chanting goshawks, long-tailed hawks, are found in Africa. The name refers to the melodious chanting they do during breeding season. They mainly hunt from a tree perch.
Goshawk,_Dark Chanting- Melierax metabates
Image by: 1)
Nevit
Dilmen - Tanzania 2
Frank
Vassen - Namibia 3)
I Love Trees - South Africa 74)
JV Verde - Gambia



Goshawk,_Eastern Chanting- Melierax poliopterus
Image by:
1)
Charles_Sharp - Ethiopia 2)
Christiaan Kooyman 3)
Sergey Yeliseev - Kenya


Goshawk,_Pale Chanting- Melierax canorus
Image by: 1)
Francesco
Veronesi 2)
Bernard_Dupont - South Africa 3)
David Berliner - South Africa


Genus Micronisus - 1 species
Goshawk,_Gabar Micronisus gabar Found: Africa
Image by: 1)
Neil Strickland 2, 3) Lip Kee - Tanzania 4)
Mike LaBarbera - Tanzania
1) Juvenile 4) Dark Phase



Genus Urotriorchis - 1 species
Hawk,_Long-tailed Urotriorchis macrourus
Image by: 1)
John_Gerrard_Keulemans 2)
Francesco_Veronesi 3)
Nik_Borrow - Sierra Leone


Milvini – Kites
Milvini is portrayed here as a "tribe", that is, a collection of genera that belong to a subfamily. In this case, the subfamily they are considered to belong to is Buteoninae of the buteonine hawks. Others consider the genera Haliastur and Milvus as belonging to its own subfamily Milvinae.
Genus Haliastur
Kite,_Brahminy Haliastur indus
Image by:
1) Dick Daniels - Featherdale Wildlife Park, Australia 2)
LonelyShrimp - Thailand 3)
sfitzgerald86 - India 4)
David_Cook - Australia



Kite,_Whistling Haliastur sphenurus
Image by:
1, 4) David Jenkins - Victoria 2)
Paul_Balfe - Western Australia 3)
5) Michael Dawes 5)
Athena Ferreira




Genus Milvus
Kite,_Black Milvus migrans
Image by: 1)
Lie Van Rompaey 2) Geoff_Whalan - Australia 3)
Koshy_Koshy 4)
Benjamint444 - Kathmandu 5)
MinoZig - Isreal




Kite,_Red Milvus milvus
Image by: 1)
Isiwal 2)
Hans Hillewaert - Belgium 3)
Pavrabec 4)
Thomas Kraft - Germany 5)
Hansueli_Krapf - Switzerland




Kite,_Yellow-billed Milvus aegyptius
Image by: 1)
Schuyler Shepherd 2, 3) Arno
Meinties 4, 5) Sias van Schalkwyk - South Africa



