Ridgway's Hawk
Encyclopedia
Ridgway's Hawk is a bird of prey
in the family Accipitridae, which also includes the eagle
s, hawk
s and Old World vulture
s. Despite the name, this bird
is a Buteo
buzzard and not a true Accipiter
hawk.
The Ridgway's Hawk's original breeding range included Haiti
and the Dominican Republic
(which make up the island of Hispaniola
) and some of the adjacent isles and keys. As of 2006, its only known population resides within Los Haitises National Park in the northeastern Dominican Republic, which is mostly covered by wet limestone forest.
This is a medium-sized, compact hawk, 36–41 cm long. The adult has brown-grey upperparts, greyish barred underparts with a reddish-brown wash, rufous-tinged thighs and a black-and-white barred tail. The male is greyer than the female. The legs and base of bill are yellow.
This bird feeds on small mammal
s, bird
s, lizard
s and snake
s. It nests in the crowns of tall trees, with nest-building in February and March and egg-laying in March and April.
This bird is critically endangered due to clearance of its forest habitat and persecution by local farmers, who erroneously believe the species preys on domestic fowl, even though reptiles comprise up to 90% of its diet. It has an estimated population of 80–120 pairs, making it, along with the Bay-breasted Cuckoo
(Coccyzus rufigularis), the most threatened bird of Hispaniola.
This bird is named after the ornithologist Robert Ridgway.
Bird of prey
Birds of prey are birds that hunt for food primarily on the wing, using their keen senses, especially vision. They are defined as birds that primarily hunt vertebrates, including other birds. Their talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh....
in the family Accipitridae, which also includes the eagle
Eagle
Eagles are members of the bird family Accipitridae, and belong to several genera which are not necessarily closely related to each other. Most of the more than 60 species occur in Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just two species can be found in the United States and Canada, nine more in...
s, hawk
Hawk
The term hawk can be used in several ways:* In strict usage in Australia and Africa, to mean any of the species in the subfamily Accipitrinae, which comprises the genera Accipiter, Micronisus, Melierax, Urotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread Accipiter genus includes goshawks,...
s and Old World vulture
Old World vulture
Old World vultures belong to the family Accipitridae, which also includes eagles, buzzards, kites, and hawks.Old World vultures are not closely related to the superficially similar New World vultures and condors, and do not share that group's good sense of smell. The similarities between the two...
s. Despite the name, this bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
is a Buteo
Buteo
Buteo is a genus of medium to fairly large, wide-ranging raptors with a robust body and broad wings. In the Old World, members of this genus are called "buzzards", but "hawk" is used in North America...
buzzard and not a true Accipiter
Accipiter
The genus Accipiter is a group of birds of prey in the family Accipitridae, many of which are named as goshawks and sparrowhawks. They can be anatomically distinguished from their relatives by the lack of a procoracoid foramen. Two small and aberrant species usually placed here do possess a large...
hawk.
The Ridgway's Hawk's original breeding range included Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
and the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
(which make up the island of Hispaniola
Hispaniola
Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...
) and some of the adjacent isles and keys. As of 2006, its only known population resides within Los Haitises National Park in the northeastern Dominican Republic, which is mostly covered by wet limestone forest.
This is a medium-sized, compact hawk, 36–41 cm long. The adult has brown-grey upperparts, greyish barred underparts with a reddish-brown wash, rufous-tinged thighs and a black-and-white barred tail. The male is greyer than the female. The legs and base of bill are yellow.
This bird feeds on small mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
s, bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s, lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
s and snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s. It nests in the crowns of tall trees, with nest-building in February and March and egg-laying in March and April.
This bird is critically endangered due to clearance of its forest habitat and persecution by local farmers, who erroneously believe the species preys on domestic fowl, even though reptiles comprise up to 90% of its diet. It has an estimated population of 80–120 pairs, making it, along with the Bay-breasted Cuckoo
Bay-breasted Cuckoo
The Bay-breasted Cuckoo is a species of cuckoo that is endemic to the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean. It has a length of roughly . C. rufigularis possesses a curved bill, a burnt reddish throat and breast, a black tail, and white-tipped retrices. In the Dominican Republic, it is known...
(Coccyzus rufigularis), the most threatened bird of Hispaniola.
This bird is named after the ornithologist Robert Ridgway.