Short-tailed Hawk

The Short-tailed Hawk (Buteo brachyurus) is a small, specialized forest-dwelling raptor of the neotropics, reaching its northernmost breeding limit in Florida. Unlike most other North American Buteo species, which primarily hunt rodents and reptiles on the ground, the Short-tailed Hawk is an aerial specialist that preys almost exclusively on small- to medium-sized birds. It spends vast amounts of its day soaring high overhead, mapping the canopy below for active songbirds.

Short-tailed Hawks occur in two highly distinct color phases, with almost no intermediate forms.

Light morph birds are immediately recognizable by their stark snowy-white underparts and underwing coverts, contrasted sharply by a dark brownish-black hood on the head and face. Unlike the similar Broad-winged Hawk, the light morph Short-tailed Hawk lacks any barring or streaking on its white breast.

Dark morph birds are entirely soot-black or dark chocolate-brown on the body and underwing coverts, with silvery underwings that are barred in black.

In both morphs, the tail is relatively short and dark with several narrow pale bars and a thick, dark subterminal band. They have remarkably pointed wingtips for a Buteo, resulting in an aggressive, falcon-like silhouette when gliding.

In the United States, the Short-tailed Hawk is primarily restricted to Florida, where it prefers cypress swamps, mangrove fringes, pine flatwoods, and mixed wet forests adjacent to open hunting areas. Globally, its range extends extensively through Mexico, Central America, and South America down to northern Argentina. Northern populations in Florida exhibit seasonal migration, moving south to the Florida Keys and Everglades for the winter, while tropical populations are generally sedentary year-round.

The flight behavior of the Short-tailed Hawk is its most diagnostic trait. It hunts by 'kiting'—hanging nearly motionless in the wind high above the forest canopy, looking straight down. Once prey is sighted, it stoops vertically at immense speed to snatch songbirds from the outer tree branches.

Its voice is a high-pitched, thin, nasal whistle, 'keeee-eer', which is higher and more strained than the call of a Red-shouldered Hawk. Nests are typically bulky structures built of sticks and lined with green leaves, placed high in the canopy of tall trees such as cypress or pine.