Gray-backed Hawk

About the Gray-backed Hawk

The grey-backed hawk (Pseudastur occidentalis) is a Vulnerable species of bird of prey in subfamily Accipitrinae, the "true" hawks, of family Accipitridae. It is found in Ecuador and far northern Peru. The grey-backed hawk was traditionally placed in genus Leucopternis but following a 2006 paper, taxonomists moved it and two other species to genus Pseudastur. The grey-backed hawk is monotypic.

The grey-backed hawk is 45 to 52 cm (18 to 20 in) long with a 104 to 116 cm (41 to 46 in) wingspan. One female weighed 660 g (23 oz). Females are about 10% larger than males and both sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a gray and white streaked head, nape, and mantle. They have blackish gray upperparts and a mostly white tail with a wide black band near the end. Their eye is dark brown, their cere gray, and their legs and feet pale yellow. Immatures have brownish gray upperparts, a dusky-striped nape, and gray spots on the breast.

The grey-backed hawk is found locally in western Ecuador between southern Esmeraldas and Loja provinces and slightly into Peru's Department of Tumbes. It inhabits subtropical and tropical... Wikipedia →