Short-tailed Hawk

Quick Facts

  • Scientific Name: Buteo brachyurus
  • Spanish Name: Gavilán colicorto
  • Family: Accipitridae
  • Known Nicknames: Short-tailed Buzzard
  • Average Length: 35–43 cm / 14–17 in
  • Average Weight: 300–450 g / 10.6–15.9 oz
  • Wingspan: 83–103 cm / 33–41 in
  • Key Feature: Relatively short, squared tail and dark plumage with white throat patch in dark morph
  • Primary Diet: Carnivore (primarily birds and small mammals)
  • Range: Southern Florida (USA) through Central America to South America (e.g., Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina)
  • Habitat: Open woodlands, forest edges, and savannas with scattered trees
  • Social Structure: Solitary or in pairs
  • Nesting/Breeding: Stick nest high in a tree
  • Conservation Status: Least Concern (LC)
  • Population Trend: Stable

The Short-tailed Hawk (*Buteo brachyurus*) is a compact, agile raptor of the Americas, distinguished by its remarkably small tail—barely extending past its wingtips in flight—which gives it a unique, almost falcon-like silhouette. There are two color morphs: the dark morph is a striking sooty brown with silvery flight feathers, while the light morph has a white chest and underparts contrasting with a dark brown hood and back. A special feature is its hunting technique; it is one of the few hawks that specializes in catching birds on the wing, often soaring high and then stooping with incredible speed to snatch swifts, swallows, and other avian prey from the air. Its short, square tail and pointed wings make it exceptionally maneuverable in dense forest canopies, where it frequently hunts from a perch or during low, gliding flights.

Fun Facts

Despite its name, the Short-tailed Hawk is one of the few raptors that regularly engages in "still-hunting," where it hovers in place against the wind like a kestrel rather than soaring in wide circles. It also exhibits a rare color morph polymorphism: in Florida, adults are almost exclusively dark-phase (chocolate brown), while in Central and South America, the white-phase (with a dark head and white chest) is far more common. Quirkily, it has a bizarre habit of "kiting" upside-down during courtship displays, flipping its body to show off its underwings while calling.

Habitats & Distribution

The Short-tailed Hawk inhabits a variety of forested and semi-open environments, primarily tropical and subtropical regions. It is most commonly found in lowland and montane forests, forest edges, and adjacent clearings, often near water sources. This species also frequents savannas, plantations, and agricultural areas with scattered trees, showing a preference for humid or moist habitats but occasionally occurring in drier woodlands. Its geographical range extends from central Mexico through Central America and into much of South America, including Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, and northern Argentina. It is also present in the Caribbean, with populations in Cuba and parts of the Bahamas. While generally resident throughout its range, some northern populations may exhibit local or altitudinal movements in response to seasonal changes.

Behaviours & Reproduction

The Short-tailed Hawk is typically solitary or found in pairs, maintaining a monogamous bond during the breeding season. Mating involves aerial displays where the male performs dramatic dives and swoops around the female, often passing food to her mid-flight. Pairs construct a stick nest high in a tree, frequently reusing the same site annually. The female lays 1 to 3 eggs, with incubation lasting about 34 days, during which the male provisions food. A unique strategy is their reliance on a specialized hunting technique—they often hunt from a high soar or by "kiting" in strong winds, which may reduce competition for nest sites by allowing them to exploit forest edges and clearings. Both parents feed the chicks, which fledge after roughly 38 to 42 days, though they remain dependent on the adults for several weeks post-fledging.

Diet

The Short-tailed Hawk is a specialized raptor with a diet dominated almost exclusively by birds, making it one of the few North American raptors that feeds primarily on avian prey. It hunts from a soaring position or a high perch, often using a rapid, twisting stoop to capture small to medium-sized birds in mid-flight, with favorites including tanagers, warblers, blackbirds, and doves. Interestingly, unlike many hawks that rely heavily on mammals or reptiles, studies of Short-tailed Hawk pellets and prey remains have shown that birds can constitute over 90% of their diet, with occasional supplements of large insects, bats, or small reptiles. They are also known to occasionally steal prey from other raptors, a behavior called kleptoparasitism, and they often hunt in pairs during the breeding season, with one bird flushing prey toward the other in a coordinated ambush.

Colors

The Short-tailed Hawk exhibits two color morphs. The dark morph is uniformly sooty blackish-brown, while the light morph has a white head and underbody contrasting with dark brown upperparts, wings, and a distinctive dark cheek patch. Juveniles are brown above with heavy brown streaking on a white chest and belly. Unique to this species is the pale morph’s sharply defined dark “hood” and white throat, and both morphs have short, broad wings and a notably short tail, aiding in agile forest canopy hunting. The dark morph provides camouflage in dense, shadowed woodlands, while the light morph blends with open skies when seen from below.