- White Hawk
image_caption = Adult "Leucopternis albicollis ghiesbreghti"
image_width = 300px
status = LC
status_system = iucn3.1
regnum =Animal ia
phylum =Chordata
classis =Aves
ordo =Falconiformes
familia =Accipitridae
subfamilia =Buteoninae (but see text)
genus = "Leucopternis "
species = "L. albicollis"
binomial = "Leucopternis albicollis"
binomial_authority = (Latham, 1790)The White Hawk, ("Leucopternis albicollis"), a resident breeding bird in the tropical
New World , is abird of prey in the familyAccipitridae . Though commonly placed in thesubfamily Buteoninae , the validity of this group is doubtful and currently under review.Description
The adult White Hawk ranges from 46-56 cm long with very broad wings and has a white head, body and underwings. The upper wings are black, and the very short tail is black with a broad white band. The bill is black and the legs are yellow.
The sexes are similar, but females are larger and heavier (840 g compared to the male's 650 g). Immature birds have extensive black spotting on the upperparts and dark-streaked whitish underparts. The call of the White Hawk is a plaintive "kerwee".
ubspecies
There are four
subspecies :
* "L. a. ghiesbreghti" of southernMexico toNicaragua is entirely white, except for black markings on the outer primaries, and a black sub-terminal tail bar. The eyes are yellow.
* "L. a. costaricensis" is found fromHonduras through toPanama andColombia . It is similar to "ghiesbreghti" but with more distinct black markings on the wings and tail. The eyes are brown.
* "L. a. williaminae" occurs locally in north-westernColombia and westernVenezuela . Its wing feathers are more heavily marked with black, and it has black streaks on the crown and collar. The tail band is broader and the eyes are brown.
* The nominate race, "L. a. albicollis", breeds from northern Colombia and central Venezuela to Brazil. It is smaller than the northern forms and the wings are mostly black, with white markings. The black tail band extends to the base of the tail and the eyes are brown.All subspecies look mainly white from below.
Distribution and ecology
This is a bird of lowland forest and other woodlands. It ranges from southern
Mexico through Central andSouth America toPeru ,Bolivia andBrazil . It also breeds onTrinidad . The White Hawk is defined by its range in central South America in the entireAmazon Basin , to theAndes on the west, theGuianas on the Atlantic on the northeast, and to the transition land to the south out of the Amazon Basin.The White Hawk feeds mainly on
reptile s with someinsect s andmammal s, caught in a sortie from a perch. It associates with foraging groups ofTufted Capuchin monkeys ("Cebus apella") andcoatimundi s ("Nasua nasua") to snatch prey startled by these animals [de Mello Beisiegel (2007)] . This species is often seen soaring, and has a spectacular aerial courtship display.It builds a large stick platform nest in a tree [E.g. "
Ceiba " sp.: Cisneros-Heredia (2006)] and usually lays one dark-blotched blue-white egg. An attended nest was observed inEcuador in mid-August. [Cisneros-Heredia (2006)]Footnotes
References
*|year=2004|id=49416|title=Leucopternis albicollis|downloaded=11 May 2006 Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
* (2006): Notes on breeding, behaviour and distribution of some birds in Ecuador. "Bull. B.O.C." 126(2): 153-164.
* (2007): Foraging Association between Coatis ("Nasua nasua") and Birds of the Atlantic Forest, Brazil. "Biotropica" 39(2): 283–285. doi|10.1111/j.1744-7429.2006.00255.x (HTML abstract)
* (1991): "A guide to the birds of Trinidad and Tobago" (2nd edition). Comstock Publishing, Ithaca, N.Y.. ISBN 0-8014-9792-2
* (2003): "Birds of Venezuela". Christopher Helm, London. ISBN 0-7136-6418-5External links
* [http://www.hawk-conservancy.org/priors/whitehawk.shtml Hawk Conservancy Trust]
* [http://pdubois.free.fr/voyages/images/guyane/2310LeucopternisAlbicollis.jpgWhite Hawk photo] ; [http://pdubois.free.fr/espece.php?MyEspece=LEUALB Article]
* [http://www.nmnh.si.edu/vert/birds/whawk.jpgPhoto-High Res] ; [http://www.nmnh.si.edu/vert/birds/ Article] smithsonian, national museum of natural history
* [http://www.bird-stamps.org/cspecies/3016000.htm Stamps] (forBelize ,Honduras ) [http://www.bird-stamps.org/recent/hondur/ext1b.htm Stamp-photo]
* [http://vireo.acnatsci.org/search.html?Form=Search&SEARCHBY=Common&KEYWORDS=white+hawk&showwhat=images&AGE=All&SEX=All&ACT=All&Search=Search&VIEW=All&ORIENTATION=All&RESULTS=24 White Hawk photo gallery] VIREO
* [http://www.arthurgrosset.com/sabirds/photos/leualb14431.jpgPhoto] ; [http://www.arthurgrosset.com/sabirds/whitehawk.html Article & synopsis] arthurgrosset.com [http://www.arthurgrosset.com/sabirds/photos/leualb14439.jpgPhoto-2(flight)] , [http://www.arthurgrosset.com/sabirds/photos/leualb3230.jpgPhoto-3]
* [http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/especie.phtml?idEspecie=728 White Hawk videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
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