Short-tailed Hawk

The Short-tailed Hawk is a small, compact buteo that occurs in two distinct color morphs: a dark morph that is nearly all sooty-black except for pale flight feathers, and a light morph with a dark hood, white underparts, and a clean white breast that contrasts with the dark head, giving it a hooded appearance. Both morphs share a relatively short, narrow tail and a stocky, broad-winged shape typical of buteos.

In the United States it reaches the northern edge of its range in peninsular Florida, where it is an uncommon but sought-after find, typically seen soaring at great height over forest and wetland edges.

Key Field Marks

• Dark morph: uniformly blackish-brown body and underwing coverts with contrastingly pale flight feathers
• Light morph: dark brown hood sharply demarcated from white throat and underparts
• Relatively short tail and stocky buteo shape
• Frequently soars very high, often kiting briefly before stooping on prey

Similar Species

• Broad-winged Hawk (dark morph): similar dark plumage but typically shows more barring on the tail and different underwing pattern; ranges overlap only in migration/winter.
• Swainson's Hawk (dark morph): larger, with longer, more pointed wings and a different flight silhouette, mostly found in open plains rather than Florida forest edges.

Range

In North America, Short-tailed Hawks are found in peninsular Florida, at the northern limit of a range that extends through Mexico, Central America, and much of South America.

Habitat

They favor a mosaic of forest edges, wooded wetlands, and adjacent open savanna or pasture, hunting from high soaring flight over the transition zones between woodland and open habitat.

Hunting

Short-tailed Hawks hunt mostly from great height, soaring or briefly hovering before folding into a rapid stoop to catch small birds in the air or on the ground, a technique that sets them apart from many other buteos that hunt from a perch.

Voice

The call is a thin, high-pitched whistle, typically given near the nest and less often heard than in some other hawks.

Nesting

Nests are built high in tall trees near the forest edge, often difficult to observe due to the species' preference for very tall soaring and nesting sites. Clutches usually contain one to three eggs.