White-necked Hawk

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Quick Facts

Endemic
  • Scientific Name: Buteogallus lacernulatus
  • Spanish Name: Busardo cuelliblanco
  • Family: Accipitridae
  • Known Nicknames: White-necked Hawk, White-necked Buteogallus
  • Average Length: 46–51 cm / 18–20 in
  • Average Weight: 700–900 g / 1.5–2.0 lb
  • Wingspan: 100–120 cm / 39–47 in
  • Key Feature: White throat and upper chest contrasting with dark gray body and blackish head
  • Primary Diet: Carnivore
  • Range: Eastern Brazil (from Bahia to Santa Catarina)
  • Habitat: Atlantic Forest, humid lowland and montane forest edges
  • Social Structure: Solitary or in pairs
  • Nesting/Breeding: Large stick nest in a tall tree
  • Conservation Status: Vulnerable (VU)
  • Population Trend: Decreasing

The White-necked Hawk (*Buteogallus lacernulatus*) is a striking and elusive raptor endemic to the Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil, instantly recognizable by its bold black-and-white plumage. Adults boast a clean white head, neck, and underparts that starkly contrast with their dark gray to black back, wings, and tail, while juveniles are heavily streaked brown and white. A unique characteristic of this species is its specialized, long-legged build and relatively short toes, adaptations for its unusual hunting strategy: stalking through the forest understory and along streams to snatch frogs, snakes, and small mammals from the ground—a more terrestrial lifestyle than most hawks. Its most special feature is a piercing, high-pitched call often described as a descending, whistled “*wheee-ah*,” which echoes through its fragmented habitat, making it a cryptic yet unmistakable sound of the dwindling Brazilian rainforest.

Fun Facts

The White-necked Hawk is a master of disguise, often perching motionless for hours while mimicking a broken branch with its strikingly white throat and dark body, luring unsuspecting prey into striking range. Unlike many raptors, it has a peculiar habit of frequently dropping to the ground to hunt lizards and large insects, using its long legs to stalk through dense underbrush like a giant, feathered cat. Its call is equally odd—a series of soft, whistled notes that sound more like a curious songbird than a fierce predator, often confusing birdwatchers who expect a harsh scream.

Habitats & Distribution

The White-necked Hawk is endemic to the Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil, where its distribution is highly fragmented and restricted to a narrow band along the coast. Its range extends from the state of Bahia south to Santa Catarina and northeastern Rio Grande do Sul. This species inhabits humid primary and secondary lowland forests, as well as montane forests up to approximately 1,200 meters in elevation. It is particularly associated with dense, intact forest tracts and is rarely found in open areas or heavily degraded landscapes, though it may occasionally venture into forest edges and bamboo thickets.

Behaviours & Reproduction

The White-necked Hawk is typically observed as a solitary or paired resident, with mated pairs defending a permanent territory year-round. Breeding occurs during the austral spring and summer, with courtship involving aerial displays where the male performs steep dives and loud calls to reinforce the pair bond. The nest is a bulky platform of sticks placed high in a tree canopy, often in a fork or on an epiphyte clump. The female usually lays one or two eggs, and while both parents share incubation and chick-rearing duties, the female does most of the brooding while the male provides most of the food. A notable reproductive strategy is their reliance on large, undisturbed forest patches, as fragmentation directly reduces nesting success and fledgling survival, making them highly sensitive to habitat continuity.

Diet

The White-necked Hawk is a specialized predator with a diet heavily reliant on arboreal and semi-arboreal prey, primarily consisting of small to medium-sized vertebrates. Its most notable dietary focus is on birds, often ambushing species like toucans, pigeons, and parrots in the forest canopy, but it is also an adept hunter of mammals such as squirrels, opossums, and bats. A particularly interesting fact about its feeding behavior is its frequent consumption of snakes, including venomous species like jararacas, which it subdues with powerful talons. Additionally, this hawk occasionally supplements its diet with large insects, lizards, and frogs, and it is known to raid the nests of other birds for eggs and chicks, demonstrating a highly opportunistic approach to securing food in its Atlantic Forest habitat.

Colors

The White-necked Hawk is predominantly dark slate-gray above, with a striking pure white throat and upper chest that contrasts sharply with its blackish cap and facial area. Its underparts are finely barred black and white, while the tail features bold, alternating black and white bands. This patterning provides disruptive camouflage in the dappled light of its forest canopy habitat, with the white throat breaking up the bird’s silhouette against the sky.

Distribution Map

Places linked to this species. A sighting is never guaranteed.