Zone-tailed Hawk
Zone-tailed HawkZone-tailed HawkZone-tailed HawkZone-tailed Hawk

Zone-tailed Hawk

Buteo albonotatus

Silhouette: Lauren Anderson · PhyloPic

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Big Bend National Park
430 Verified sightings at Big Bend National Park From 2019 to 2026
2,646 Verified sightings across all 73 parks From 2019 to 2026
August Best month highest sighting rate
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Zone-tailed Hawk

The zone-tailed hawk (Buteo albonotatus) is a medium-sized hawk of warm, dry parts of the Americas. It is somewhat similar in plumage and flight style to a common scavenger, the turkey vulture, and may benefit from being able to blend into groups of vultures. It feeds on small terrestrial tetrapods of all kinds.

In 1844, the English zoologist George Robert Gray, in his List of the Specimens of Birds in the Collection of the British Museum, mentioned the zone-tailed hawk under the common name "white spotted buzzard" and coined the binomial name Buteo albonotatus. As Gray omitted a species description, his binomial name is considered nomen nudum, a naked name, and is not recognised. Instead, the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup is recognised as the authority as in 1847, he provided a brief description and used Gray's name Buteo albonotatus. The type locality is Mexico. The specific epithet albonotatus combines the Latin albus meaning "white" with notatus meaning "marked". The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.

The zone-tailed hawk is a fairly large but slender Buteo hawk. Grown birds are 46 to 56 cm (18 to 22 in) in length with a... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Big Bend National Park

Red-tailed Hawk
LC

Red-tailed Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Buteo jamaicensis

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
Gray-lined Hawk
LC

Gray-lined Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Buteo nitidus

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
Swainson's Hawk
LC

Swainson's Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Buteo swainsoni

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
Broad-winged Hawk
LC

Broad-winged Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Buteo platypterus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Red-shouldered Hawk
LC

Red-shouldered Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Buteo lineatus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Ferruginous Hawk
LC

Ferruginous Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Buteo regalis

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Common Black-Hawk
LC

Common Black-Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Buteogallus anthracinus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
Sharp-shinned Hawk
LC

Sharp-shinned Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Accipiter striatus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Harris' Hawk
LC

Harris' Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Parabuteo unicinctus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Hen Harrier
LC

Hen Harrier

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Circus cyaneus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Golden Eagle
LC

Golden Eagle

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Aquila chrysaetos

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Mississippi Kite
LC

Mississippi Kite

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Ictinia mississippiensis

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Global Distribution

Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
2 Palo Verde National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
3 Darién National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
4 Cabo Pulmo National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
5 El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
6 San Lorenzo Protected Forest 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
7 Lago de Yojoa 🇭🇳 Honduras
<5%
8 Bahía de Loreto National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
9 Soberanía National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
10 Tayrona National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
11 Carara National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
12 Cusuco National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
<5%
13 Celestún Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
14 Caroni Swamp 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago
<5%
15 Machalilla National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
<5%
16 Manuel Antonio National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
17 Chagres National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
18 Chirripó National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
19 Cerro Azul Meámbar National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
<5%
20 Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
21 Cahuita National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
22 Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
23 Amacayacu National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
24 Cañón del Sumidero National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
25 Marino Ballena National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
26 Bastimentos Island National Marine Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
27 Chapada Diamantina National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
28 Henri Pittier National Park 🇻🇪 Venezuela
<5%
29 Pico Bonito National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
<5%
30 Calakmul Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
31 Manu National Park 🇵🇪 Peru
<5%
32 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
33 Tenorio Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
34 Saguaro National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
35 Masaya Volcano National Park 🇳🇮 Nicaragua
<5%
36 Tambopata National Reserve 🇵🇪 Peru
<5%
37 Chingaza National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
38 Braulio Carrillo National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
39 Arenal Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
40 Piedras Blancas National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
41 Parque Natural Metropolitano 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
42 Corcovado National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
43 Volcán Barú National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
44 Tikal National Park 🇬🇹 Guatemala
<5%
45 Tijuca National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
<5%
46 Farallones de Cali National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
47 Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve 🇪🇨 Ecuador
<5%
48 Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
49 Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
50 Noel Kempff Mercado National Park 🇧🇴 Bolivia
Insufficient data
51 Irazú Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
52 Joshua Tree National Park 🇺🇸 United States
Insufficient data
53 Celaque National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
Insufficient data
54 Brownsberg Nature Park 🇸🇷 Suriname
Insufficient data
55 Ostional Wildlife Refuge 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
56 El Triunfo 🇲🇽 Mexico
Insufficient data
57 Amboró National Park 🇧🇴 Bolivia
Insufficient data
58 La Tigra National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
Insufficient data
59 Las Baulas Marine National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
60 Santa Rosa National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
61 Main Ridge Forest Reserve 🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago
Insufficient data
62 Itatiaia National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
Insufficient data
63 Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
64 Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas 🇧🇷 Brazil
Insufficient data
65 Podocarpus National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
Insufficient data
66 Madidi National Park 🇧🇴 Bolivia
Insufficient data
67 Rincón de la Vieja National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
68 Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
Insufficient data
69 Tortuguero National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
70 Sierra de la Macarena National Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
Insufficient data
71 Yasuní National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
Insufficient data
72 Iguazú National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
Insufficient data
73 Los Quetzales National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Zone-tailed Hawk in Big Bend National Park?

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Zone-tailed Hawk sighting in Big Bend National Park, based on 430 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Zone-tailed Hawk in Big Bend National Park?

August has the highest sighting rate for Zone-tailed Hawk in Big Bend National Park in our monthly data.

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