The Roadside Hawk is a common, and relatively tame, hawk of tropical and subtropical zones but in North America it only casually enters the Rio Grande valley of southern Texas. As its name suggests, it can frequently be seen perched in a tree, on a fencepost, or some other structure adjacent to roadways. It appears to be tolerant of human presence and it will often allow a close approach before taking wing. It is similar in size to the Broad-winged Hawk yet has a different plumage pattern. The Roadside Hawk has an accipiter style flight pattern with three to five wingbeats followed by a glide. This bird possesses an acute sense of hearing which it uses when perched and waiting for prey to become available.
Adults and immatures are similar in appearance. Overall, the adult is a dark grayish brown bird with la dark bib and a pale, barred belly. The tail is tipped in white, and the undertail is a pale brown with four dark crossbars.
SIZE
The female is larger but there is substantial overlap between the sexes. Total length ranges between 13 and 15 inches (33 and 38 centimeters), weight between 7.25 and 12.25 ounces (200 to 350 grams), and wingspan between 28 and 31 inches (72 and 79 centimeters).
MORPHS
There are no light or dark color phases for this species.
SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION
Adult - Flight
- accipiter flight style
- underwing shows reddish-brown in primaries and secondaries
- reddish underparts with dark brown bib and barring
- tail with four bands, almost evenly spaced apart, and irregular in shape; white tip to tail
- barred tips to outer primaries
Immature - Flight
- accipiter flight style
- creamy underparts with streaked bib and barring
- tail with four to five narrow bands evenly spaced; white tip to tail
- creamy line above eyes
SIMILAR SPECIES
The Roadside Hawk is similar in size to the Broad-winged Hawk but has a different patterning. It is also similar to the Gray Hawk, but the adult Roadside Hawk has a dark bib and barred belly while the immature has a streaked breast and barred belly. It also has more bars on the tail.
OTHER NAMES
The Roadside Hawk is also referred to as the "Insect Hawk."
ETYMOLOGY
The genus name Buteo refers to "hawk", and the specific name magnirostris means "large beak." Literally, this bird is a "large- beaked hawk."
MYTHOLOGY
No information is available for the Roadside Hawk.
