The White-tailed Hawk is a rather large hawk which lives in very open (coastal prairie) to sparsely wooded but open, arid regions, rarely used by other buteos. It has successfully colonized several Caribbean islands. In flight, its dihedral wing silhouette is similar to the Swainson's Hawk but it has rather long legs and a short tail. It is a striking bird with a white breast and white tail with a black subterminal band. Plumages of the adult and immature are very different, while the patterns of the subadult are between both in appearance. All ages have long legs and brownish eyes. In flight, all ages show dark primary feathers contrasting with paler secondary feathers.
It hunts from a perch while soaring or hovering.
SIZE
The White-tailed Hawk is a large buteo that displays reverse size dimorphism. The average total length for both sexes is 23 inches (58 centimeters) with a wingspan of 50 inches (127 centimeters). The average wing chord length for males is 16.4 inches (41.7 centimeters) and for females is 16.7 inches (42.4 centimeters). An average male weighs 2.1 pounds (950 grams); females 2.4 pounds (1,100 grams). Body size decreases from temperate to tropical latitudes.
MORPHS
Throughout its range, the White-tailed Hawk has been reported to have various shades of colors. These are dark immatures and subadults that apear very black. There are no color morphs reported in the United States. Adult plumage is attained in the bird's third year of life.
SPECIFIC DESCRIPTION
Adult - Flight
- white underparts, sometimes with fine barring
- two-toned underwing; flight feathers (primaries) darker than secondaries
- white "window" or patch near base of outer primary feathers
- white tail with wide black tail band near tip and at least five fine bands above it
- wide dark band on trailing (back) edge of wings
- dihedral wing profile when soaring closely resembling a Swainson's Hawk
- legs rather long compared to other buteos
- 10 primaries with numbers 7, 8, and 9 clearly notched
Subadult - Flight
- distinctive large white breast area
- dark brown to black head and throat
- wing linings and belly variously barred or mottled
- grayish tail with dark band near tip and narrower bands above it
- wide dark band on trailing (back) edge of wings
- underside of flight feathers barred with dark gray as in adults
Immature - Flight
- lacks wide dark border on trailing edge of wing of older ages
- bands on tail fine and narrow, more so than in other age-classes
- narrow gray band to trailing (back) edge of wings
- creamy-white area on breast, but varies in size
- same flight pattern as for adult with exception of the longer barred tail
- wings narrower, and much longer tailed than in older ages
SIMILAR SPECIES
In flight, the silhouette of the White-tailed Hawk bears resemblance to that of the Swainson's Hawk. First year immature White-tailed Hawks are sometimes confused with Red-tailed Hawks, and some first and second-year immature White-tailed Hawks with "belly bands" resemble Red-tailed Hawks. Perched immature White-tailed Hawks can look like large, dark-morph buteos, but the wings extend far beyond the tails; in other species the wings are equal to, or shorter, than the tail.
OTHER NAMES
The White-tailed Hawk is locally referred to as the "Sennett's White-tailed Hawk", and simply "Whitetail."
ETYMOLOGY
The Latin word Buteo translates to "type of hawk or falcon"; the Latin prefix albus means "white" and the suffix caudatus means "tail."
