Common Black Hawk
Buteogallus anthracinus
eBird describes the Common Black Hawk like this: An aptly-named entirely black hawk with broad wings and short tail with a distinct white band. Flight feathers are slightly paler and it has long yellow legs and yellow on the base of the bill. Immature birds are streaky brown with dark moustache and pale eyebrow. Typically found in woodlands near water where it hunts; shows an affinity for cottonwood trees at the northern end of its range.
The Birds of the World website introduces the Common Black Hawk with this descriptive information: An obligate riparian nester in the southwestern United States, the Common Black Hawk favors remote, mature gallery forest corridors along perennial streams. Its black plumage, prominent white tail band, and unique vocal shrills add an exotic, Neotropical aspect to the array of hawks in the Southwest. Breeding from northern South America to southwestern Utah, this species is migratory in the United States but generally resident elsewhere. Common and frequently reported to be tame and easily approachable in the southern portion of its range, it is rare and secretive to the north. This hawk is an opportunistic feeder with a broad diet. It generally hunts from a perch, capturing small to medium-sized vertebrates or invertebrates (except venomous snakes) and favoring fish, crayfish, and other aquatic animals. Relatively little research has been done on this species. Affinities of its closely related forms are not well defined, and more study is needed to determine if these should be treated as separate species or as conspecifics. The highest management priority for the Common Black Hawk in the United States is the conservation, improvement, and expansion of its riparian habitat, currently threatened throughout much of the Southwest. Listed by state governments as threatened in Texas, endangered in New Mexico, and of concern (a “candidate species”) in Arizona, this hawk is not yet federally listed by the U.S. government. Mexico plans to list it as threatened, however, which may help stimulate much needed research there.
I saw and photographed my first Common Black Hawk on the afternoon of February 10, 2023 near the Tarjoles River in Costa Rica. I saw this bird as we walking a road on the way to our boat tour, then at two different locations during the boat tour. I was delighted to watch this bird and add it to my life list!
