White-tailed Hawks
Birds of Prey
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The White-tailed Hawk, (Buteo albicaudatus), is a large bird of prey found in tropical or sub-tropical environments.
Distribution and habitat
The White-tailed Hawk could be found anywhere from southern Texas to Central Argentina as well as many Caribbean Islands. For habitats it prefers open or semi-open regions where there are few trees to hinder its flight.
Size and description
Averaging 58 cm in length with a wing span of 1.2 m, the White-tailed Hawk is a large, stocky creature. Adult birds are gray above but white bellow, with narrow black bands on its short, white tail. Immature birds are some what darker than adults and have gray tails.
Diet
The diet of the White-tailed Hawk varies with its environment. Rabbits make up the majority of the hawk’s diet in southern Texas while lizards are the preferred prey in West Indies. Other animals such as cotton rats, snakes, frogs, insects, birds up to the size of quails are also eaten. The White-tailed hawk is known to feed on dead animals (carrion) and chickens when no other source of sustenance is available.
Breeding
Breeding pairs of White-tailed Hawk build nests out of freshly broken twigs and cushion them with dried grasses and other fine materials. White-tailed Hawks do not abandon their nests, which could reach sizes of up to three-feet across. Between one to three eggs are laid per year.
Copyright: Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia.org
Relevant Web Resources: White-tailed Hawk (Virtual Bird Field Guide) ... USGS
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