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ABOUT THIS SPECIES

BROAD-WINGED HAWK – (Species Account Blog #94)

TAXONOMIC TREE:  

• ORDER: Accipitriformes,
• FAMILY: Accipitridae,
• BINOMIAL NAME: Buteo platypterus

The Broad-winged Hawk is a rather small, compact hawk; about the size of Red-shouldered Hawk, smaller than Red-tailed Hawk. Adults are solid brown above, barred reddish-brown below with bold black-and-white tail bands. Immatures similar, but with blotchier markings below and thin, diffuse tail bands. Distinctive shape in flight: note the short tail, straight leading edge of wing, and bulging secondaries in flight. (from Birds of the World)

SIMILAR SPECIES

Light-morph adult most similar to adult Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus), but the Red-shouldered has rufous shoulders, longer legs, black-and-white bars on remiges, and more white bands on tail; in flight, Red-shouldered also appears to hold its wings stretched forward (not flat and perpendicular to the body as in Broad-winged Hawk), and its wingtips are less pointed than in the Broad-winged.

GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION

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PERSONAL OBSERVATION ANECDOTES

In Costa Rica we observed a Broad-winged Hawk at El Toucanet Lodge Capay de Dota and at Virgen del Socorro near San Martin.

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PHOTO GALLERY

**Some of these Photo Gallery images (all taken by me) have been taken in other nearby countries.

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RECENT BLOG POSTS

View the five most recent Birds & Birding in Costa Rica series blog posts below.

• A Streak-headed Woodcreeper Feeds its Offspring Near the Arenal Observatory Lodge, Costa Rica
• PALE-BILLED WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
• SMOKY-BROWN WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
• HOFFMANN’S WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding
• BLACK-CHEEKED WOODPECKER – Pura Vida Birds and Birding