White hawk

White Hawk
Scientific classification
Kingdom Information
Domain	Eukaryota
Kingdom	Animalia
Subkingdom	Bilateria
Branch	Deuterostomia
Phylum Information
Phylum	Chordata
Sub-phylum	Vertebrata
Infraphylum	Gnathostomata
Class Information
Superclass	Tetrapoda
Class	Aves
Sub-class	Neornithes
Infra-class	Neoaves
Order Information
Order	Accipitriformes
Sub-order	Accipitres
Family Information
Superfamily	Accipitroidea
Family	Accipitridae
Sub-family	Buteoninae
Genus Information
Genus	Pseudastur
Species Information
Species	P. albicollis
Synonyms	Leucopternis albicollis
Population statistics
Population	Unknown (2016 est.)
Conservation status	Least concern

The white hawk (Pseudastur albicollis) is a species of bird of prey of the family Accipitridae, and found in the tropical areas of Central and South America.

Description

The white hawk is small, about 18 to 22 inches long, a wingspan of 38.5 to 46.2 inches, and weigh from 1.43 to 1.85 pounds. Females are slightly larger than males. As the name implies, it is predominately white in color, with black upper wings; from below the wing primaries and secondaries are tipped in black, and the white tail has a single black band. Overall coloration patterns vary slightly among the subspecies. Juvenile birds bear spotted plumage above, with dark streaks on the belly.

The call has been described as a plain k'wee or p'ee'a.

Subspecies

• Pseudastur albicollis albicollis; Guyana, French Guiana, Suriname, Brazil (Amazonian basin), Trinidad
• Pseudastur albicollis costaricensis; Honduras to Panama and western Colombia
• Pseudastur albicollis ghiesbreghti; southern Mexico to Guatemala and Belize
• Pseudastur albicollis williaminae; northwestern Colombia to extreme northwestern Venezuela

Range and habitat

The white hawk is found in moist, forested areas and forest transitions, from southern Mexico south to Orinoco and Amazon basins of South America east of the Andes mountains.

Diet

The white hawk is primarily a still-hunter within the forest canopy, scanning the ground or branches for prey animals, such as small reptiles, birds, rodents, and insects. It has been recorded that these birds will take advantage of their prey being flushed out by the movements of other, larger animals, and it has been observed that these birds will often associate with certain species of mammals in order to obtain their prey items.

Threats

The species has a large range and population, but it has been noted to have decreased in number, but not enough to be considered threatened.