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Home/Species/ Harris's Hawk

Parabuteo unicinctus

(Temminck, 1824)

Harris's Hawk

G5Secure Found in 9 roadless areas NatureServe Explorer →
G5SecureGlobal Rank
Least concernIUCN
Identity
Unique IDELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105646
Element CodeABNKC16010
Record TypeSPECIES
ClassificationSpecies
Classification StatusStandard
Name CategoryVertebrate Animal
IUCNLeast concern
CITESAppendix II
Endemicoccurs (regularly, as a native taxon) in multiple nations
KingdomAnimalia
PhylumCraniata
ClassAves
OrderAccipitriformes
FamilyAccipitridae
GenusParabuteo
Other Common Names
Aguililla Rojinegra (ES) Buse de Harris (FR) Gavião-Asa-de-Telha (PT)
Concept Reference
American Ornithologists' Union (AOU). 1998. Check-list of North American birds. Seventh edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C. [as modified by subsequent supplements and corrections published in The Auk]. Also available online: http://www.aou.org/.
Taxonomic Comments
Subspecies harrisi and superior do not merit recognition as separate taxa (Bednarz 1988).
Conservation Status
Review Date1996-11-22
Change Date1996-11-22
Range Extent Comments
RESIDENT: southern Kansas and vicinity (casually or formerly), and from northern Baja California, southeastern California (formerly, recently reintroduced), southern Arizona, southern New Mexico, and central Texas south to central Chile and central Argentina. Breeding distribution tends to be spotty. In the U.S., most numerous in winter in western and southern Texas (Root 1988).
Threat Impact Comments
Population declines and range contraction are attributed to habitat loss (e.g., mesquite eradication) and disturbance (USFWS 1987, Palmer 1988, Bednarz et al. 1988). Predators include great-horned owl, coyote, gray fox, and bobcat.
Ecology & Habitat

Habitat

Mainly savanna, open woodland, and semidesert, especially vicinity of marshes, swamps, and large bodies of water (AOU 1983); also near small water sources such as man-made cattle-watering ponds and catchments. River woodland, mesquite forest, saguaro-paloverde desert, brushy flatlands (Harrison 1979). Also suburban areas in southern Arizona. Additional habitats south of Mexico. Water appears to be an important resource in the Sonoran Desert.

Nests in tree, tall shrubby growth, on cactus, power line tower; often low, 1.5-9 m above ground. In Arizona, used saguaro cactus and enclosed tree sites (Mader 1978). Sometimes builds supernumerary nests. Commonly nests in same nest or nest site in successive years.

Ecology

In southern Arizona, 2.5-5 sq km per active nest in saguaro-paloverde (see Palmer 1988, Bednarz et al. 1988). In Pinal County, Arizona, average of one nest per 2.0 sq km; hawks in breeding groups rarely ranged beyond 0.8 km from active nests, except to visit water sources; resident hawks chased trespassing conspecifics out of the nest area during breeding and nonbreeding periods (Dawson and Mannan 1991). Reportedly not territorial in New Mexico, though this may be questionable (see Dawson and Mannan 1991). In Texas, breeding distribution may shift in relation to rainfall pattern and prey abundance (see Palmer 1988). In fall and winter, often in large social aggregations (about 4-11 individuals) that form in zones between nesting areas (Dawson and Mannan 1991).

Reproduction

Long breeding season (February to early December [egg laying to fledging of young in second broods] in southern Arizona). Clutch size commonly 2-3. Sometimes 2 broods/year. Incubation 33-36 days, by both sexes. Young tended by both parents, fledge at about 6 weeks, may remain with parents for several months after fledging. Some yearlings breed. Cooperative breeder; one or more helpers, which may or may not be related to the breeders, often are active in procuring prey, transporting prey to the nest area, and defending the nest from predation by great horned owls (Dawson and Mannan 1991); sometimes female pairs with two males, with both males incubating the eggs and feeding and brooding the young. See Dawson and Mannan (1991) for detailed information on mating relationships and helper contributions in Arizona. See Bednarz (1988) for information on reproduction in New Mexico. In southern Arizona, nest success was about 68%; 50 nests fledged an average of 1.6 young (Mader 1978).
Terrestrial Habitats
Woodland - HardwoodShrubland/chaparralSavannaGrassland/herbaceousDesertSuburban/orchard
Palustrine Habitats
HERBACEOUS WETLANDRiparian
Other Nations (1)
United StatesN5
ProvinceRankNative
CaliforniaS1Yes
New MexicoS2Yes
ArizonaS4BYes
TexasS3BYes
Roadless Areas (9)
Arizona (8)
AreaForestAcres
BoulderTonto National Forest40,359
Butterfly Roadless AreaCoronado National Forest42,296
Catalina St. Pk. Roadless AreaCoronado National Forest951
GaliuroCoronado National Forest28,333
GoldfieldTonto National Forest15,257
Lime CreekTonto National Forest42,568
Oracle RoadlessCoronado National Forest22,365
SalomeTonto National Forest2,932
New Mexico (1)
AreaForestAcres
West Face Sacramento MountainsLincoln National Forest41,176
References (46)
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