Roadside Hawk

Overview
Roadside Hawk: This small, long legged tropical species common from Mexico to Argentina is casual in winter to the Rio Grande Valley. Gray-brown upperparts and rufous belly with white to buff coarse bars. Tail is banded with white tip. Flies with stiff, rapid wingbeats and hunts along roadsides.

Range and Habitat
Roadside Hawk: Tropical species, casual in winter in the lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas. Prefers plantations, second-growth woods and field edges. Often perches low on roadside fence posts or trees.

The Roadside Hawk is mainly a resident of Latin America. It is quite a common species throughout the range of Mexico, Central America, South America, northern Caribbean coastlines and northeastern areas of Argentina. This species is well adapted to virtually every habitat except dense woodlands. It may also be found in urban areas, and may attack humans venturing too close to its nest. This bird’s diet mainly consists of insects, squamates and small mammals. Due to increasing or maintained populations of the Roadside Hawk, this species has a current conservation rating of Least Concern.

INTERESTING FACTS
There is significant plumage variation depending on the subspecies. With the possible exception of dense forests, the Roadside Hawk is well adapted to most ecosystemsin its range. A group of hawks has many collective nouns, including a "boil", "knot", "spiraling", "stream", and "tower" of hawks.