Great Black-Hawk

Buteogallus urubitinga

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered

KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
PhylumChordata (Chordates)
ClassAves (Birds)
OrderAccipitriformes (Hawks, Eagles, Kites, and Allies)
FamilyAccipitridae (Hawks, Eagles, and Kites)
GenusButeogallus (Black Hawks and Allies)
SpeciesButeogallus urubitinga (Great Black-Hawk)

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

at Tikal National Park

4 Verified sightings at Tikal National Park From 2019 to 2026

5,637 Verified sightings across all 66 parks From 2019 to 2026

☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Great Black-Hawk

The great black hawk (Buteogallus urubitinga) is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes the eagles, hawks, and Old World vultures. The great black 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 urubitinga. Gmelin's description was ultimately based on the "urubitinga" that had been described in 1648 by the German naturalist Georg Marcgrave in his Historia Naturalis Brasiliae. The great black hawk is now one of nine species placed in the genus Buteogallus was introduced in 1830 by the French naturalist René Lesson. The name genus is a portmanteau of Buteo, a genus introduced in 1779 by Bernard Germain de Lacépède for the buzzards and the genus Gallus introduced in 1760 by Mathurin Jacques Brisson for the junglefowl. The specific epithet urubitinga is from Tupi Urubú tinga meaning "big black bird" for such a raptor.

Two subspecies are recognised: B. u. ridgwayi (Gurney, JH Sr, 1884) – Mexico to west Panama B. u. urubitinga (Gmelin, JF... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Tikal National Park

Buteogallus anthracinus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Rupornis magnirostris

Daily sighting probability ~50% · Likely

Ictinia plumbea

Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible

Spizaetus ornatus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Harpagus bidentatus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck

Buteo brachyurus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Elanoides forficatus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Leucopternis albicollis

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Leptodon cayanensis

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Chondrohierax uncinatus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Buteo nitidus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

Spizaetus tyrannus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare

See all 12 relatives Show fewer

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	Parque Estadual Encontro das Águas	🇧🇷 Brazil	~50%
2	Main Ridge Forest Reserve	🇹🇹 Trinidad and Tobago	~50%
3	El Impenetrable National Park	🇦🇷 Argentina	~30%
4	Noel Kempff Mercado National Park	🇧🇴 Bolivia	~20%
5	Iberá National Park	🇦🇷 Argentina	~10%
6	Amacayacu National Natural Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	~10%
7	Anavilhanas National Park	🇧🇷 Brazil	~10%
8	Tambopata National Reserve	🇵🇪 Peru	~10%
9	Tayrona National Natural Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	~10%
10	Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	~10%
11	Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
12	El Palmar National Park	🇦🇷 Argentina	<5%
13	Manu National Park	🇵🇪 Peru	<5%
14	Madidi National Park	🇧🇴 Bolivia	<5%
15	Machalilla National Park	🇪🇨 Ecuador	<5%
16	Henri Pittier National Park	🇻🇪 Venezuela	<5%
17	Serra da Canastra National Park	🇧🇷 Brazil	<5%
18	Darién National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
19	Calakmul Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
20	Arenal Volcano National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
21	Yasuní National Park	🇪🇨 Ecuador	<5%
22	Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
23	Soberanía National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
24	Tenorio Volcano National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
25	Palo Verde National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
26	Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve	🇪🇨 Ecuador	<5%
27	Cockscomb Basin Wildlife Sanctuary	🇧🇿 Belize	<5%
28	Iguaçu National Park	🇧🇷 Brazil	<5%
29	Santa Rosa National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
30	Canaima National Park	🇻🇪 Venezuela	<5%
31	Ostional Wildlife Refuge	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
32	Las Baulas Marine National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
33	Celestún Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
34	Sian Ka'an Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
35	La Amistad International Park (Panama)	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
36	Volcán Barú National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
37	Corcovado National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
38	Iguazú National Park	🇦🇷 Argentina	<5%
39	Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
40	Braulio Carrillo National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
41	Marino Ballena National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
42	Manuel Antonio National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
43	Chagres National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
44	Parque Natural Metropolitano	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
45	Bastimentos Island National Marine Park	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
46	Cordillera Azul National Park	🇵🇪 Peru	<5%
47	Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
48	Carara National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
49	San Lorenzo Protected Forest	🇵🇦 Panama	Insufficient data
50	Utría National Natural Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	Insufficient data
51	El Triunfo	🇲🇽 Mexico	Insufficient data
52	Coiba National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	Insufficient data
53	Brownsberg Nature Park	🇸🇷 Suriname	Insufficient data
54	Celaque National Park	🇭🇳 Honduras	Insufficient data
55	Biotopo Cerro Cahuí	🇬🇹 Guatemala	Insufficient data
56	Amboró National Park	🇧🇴 Bolivia	Insufficient data
57	Pico Bonito National Park	🇭🇳 Honduras	Insufficient data
58	Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
59	Cahuita National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
60	Chirripó National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
61	Lago de Yojoa	🇭🇳 Honduras	Insufficient data
62	Piedras Blancas National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
63	Serra dos Órgãos National Park	🇧🇷 Brazil	Insufficient data
64	Rincón de la Vieja National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
65	Tikal National Park	🇬🇹 Guatemala	Insufficient data
66	Tortuguero National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data

← Back to Tikal National Park

Great Black-Hawk

About the Great Black-Hawk

Closest Relatives at Tikal National Park

Common Black-Hawk

Roadside Hawk

Plumbeous Kite

Ornate Hawk-Eagle

Double-toothed Kite

Short-tailed Hawk

American Swallow-tailed Kite

White Hawk

Gray-headed Kite

Hook-billed Kite

Gray-lined Hawk

Black Hawk-Eagle

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found