Roadside Hawk
Rupornis magnirostris
Silhouette: Andy Wilson · PhyloPic
- KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
- PhylumChordata (Chordates)
- ClassAves (Birds)
- OrderAccipitriformes (Hawks, Eagles, Kites, and Allies)
- FamilyAccipitridae (Hawks, Eagles, and Kites)
- GenusRupornis
- SpeciesRupornis magnirostris (Roadside Hawk)
About the Roadside Hawk
The roadside hawk (Rupornis magnirostris) is a relatively small bird of prey found in the Americas. This vocal species is often the most common raptor in its range. It has many subspecies and is now usually placed in the monotypic genus Rupornis instead of Buteo.
The roadside hawk was formally described in 1788 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with the eagles, hawks and relatives in the genus Falco and coined the binomial name Falco magnirostris. Gmelin based his description on the "Épervier à gros bec de Cayenne" that had been described and illustrated in 1770 by the French polymath Comte de Buffon in his multi-volume Histoire Naturelle des Oiseaux. The roadside hawk is now the only species placed in the genus Rupornis that was introduced in 1844 by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek rhupos meaning "dirt" or "filth" with ornis meaning "bird". The specific epithet magnirostris combines the Latin magnus meaning "great" with -rostris meaning "billed".
Twelve subspecies are recognised. Their distributions are... Wikipedia →
Recent sightings of Roadside Hawk in Cusuco National Park
LIVEiNaturalistClosest Relatives at Cusuco National Park
American Swallow-tailed Kite
Elanoides forficatus
Gray-lined Hawk
Buteo nitidus
Short-tailed Hawk
Buteo brachyurus
White Hawk
Leucopternis albicollis
Sharp-shinned Hawk
Accipiter striatus
Broad-winged Hawk
Buteo platypterus
Mississippi Kite
Ictinia mississippiensis
Zone-tailed Hawk
Buteo albonotatus
Black Hawk-Eagle
Spizaetus tyrannus
Red-tailed Hawk
Buteo jamaicensis
Common Black-Hawk
Buteogallus anthracinus
White-tailed Hawk
Buteo albicaudatus
Global Distribution
Warmer areas are where this animal is recorded most often.