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

Zone-tailed Hawk

Buteo albonotatus

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Saguaro National Park
426 Verified sightings at Saguaro National Park From 2019 to 2026
3,712 Verified sightings across all 78 parks From 2019 to 2026
April 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 Saguaro National Park

Red-tailed Hawk
LC Endemic

Red-tailed Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Buteo jamaicensis

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
Red-shouldered Hawk
LC

Red-shouldered Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Buteo lineatus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Gray-lined Hawk
LC

Gray-lined Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Buteo nitidus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Swainson's Hawk
LC

Swainson's Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Buteo swainsoni

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Broad-winged Hawk
LC

Broad-winged Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Buteo platypterus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Short-tailed Hawk
LC

Short-tailed Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Buteo brachyurus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Ferruginous Hawk
LC

Ferruginous Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Buteo regalis

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Bald Eagle
LC

Bald Eagle

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

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

Harris' Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Parabuteo unicinctus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Hen Harrier
LC

Hen Harrier

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Circus cyaneus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Sharp-shinned Hawk
LC Endemic

Sharp-shinned Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Accipiter striatus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
White-tailed Kite
LC

White-tailed Kite

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Elanus leucurus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is)  ·  parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

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

Quick answers

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

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Zone-tailed Hawk sighting in Saguaro National Park, based on 426 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.

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

April has the highest sighting rate for Zone-tailed Hawk in Saguaro National Park in our monthly data.

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