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Harris hawk on a log

Harris hawk

The Harris hawk or Harris's hawk is unique amongst the raptors for hunting in family groups. This co-operative behaviour allows it to capture larger prey than would otherwise be possible.

Found from the southwestern United States down to Chile and central Argentina, Harris hawks are medium to large birds of prey with dark brown and chestnut plumage and a white-tipped tail. They occupy sparsely covered habitats including semi-desert, woodlands, marshlands and mangroves. Some individuals are sighted in Britain; however these are likely to be escapees from falconry, a purpose for which they are one of the most popular hawks.

Scientific name: Parabuteo unicinctus

Rank: Species

Common names:

  • Bay-winged hawk,
  • Dusky hawk,
  • Harris's hawk

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Distribution

The Harris hawk can be found in a number of locations including: North America, South America. Find out more about these places and what else lives there.

Habitats

The following habitats are found across the Harris hawk distribution range. Find out more about these environments, what it takes to live there and what else inhabits them.

Behaviours

Discover what these behaviours are and how different plants and animals use them.

Additional data source: Animal Diversity Web

Conservation Status

Least Concern

  1. EX - Extinct
  2. EW
  3. CR - Threatened
  4. EN - Threatened
  5. VU - Threatened
  6. NT
  7. LC - Least concern

Year assessed: 2009

Classified by: IUCN 3.1

About

The Harris's Hawk or Harris Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus) formerly known as the Bay-winged Hawk or Dusky Hawk, is a medium-large bird of prey which breeds from the southwestern United States south to Chile and central Argentina. Birds are sometimes reported at large in Western Europe, especially Britain, but it is a popular species in falconry and these records almost certainly all refer to escapes from captivity.

The name is derived from the Greek para, meaning beside, near or like, and the Latin buteo, referring to a kind of buzzard; uni meaning once; and cinctus meaning girdled, referring to the white band at the tip of the tail.John James Audubon gave this bird its English name in honor of his ornithological companion, financial supporter, and friend Edward Harris. The Harris Hawk is notable for its behavior of hunting cooperatively in "packs", consisting of family groups while most other raptors hunt alone.

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