Ridgway's Hawk

The Ridgway's Hawk, Buteo ridgwayi, is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes the eagles, hawks and Old World vultures. Despite the name, this bird is a Buteo buzzard and not a true Accipiter hawk.

The Ridgway's Hawk breeds in Haiti, the Dominican Republic and the adjacent Haitian islands of GonGrande Cayamite and Beata.

This is a medium-sized, compact hawk, about 40cm long. The adult has brown-grey upperparts, greyish barred underparts with reddish-brown wash, rufous thighs and a black-and-white barred tail. The male is greyer than the female. Immature birds have buffy white underparts with grey and brown streaks.

This bird feeds on small mammals, birds, lizards and snakes. It nests in the crowns of tall trees, with nest-building in February and March and eggs laid in March and April.

This bird is critically endangered due to clearance of its forest habitat. It has an estimated population of less than 250.

This bird is named after the ornithologist Robert Ridgway.