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  Profile

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  In flight

Birds of Prey

Zone-tailed Hawk

Buteo albonotatus

• rare
• 50 km/h
• Least Concern

Mimics Turkey Vultures so precisely that prey ignores it until the talons arrive. Evolution's long con.

Habitat

Riparian woodland, desert uplands, canyonlands, and mixed pine-oak/conifer forests from sea level up to about 3,000 m

Fun fact

The Zone-tailed Hawk closely resembles a Turkey Vulture in flight silhouette and habitually soars in vulture flocks, likely using this resemblance as aggressive mimicry to approach unsuspecting prey.

Range

Southwestern US (Arizona, New Mexico, west Texas) through Mexico and Central America to Colombia, Ecuador, and locally Peru, Bolivia, Paraguay, Brazil, and northern Argentina; also Trinidad

Diet

Small birds, mammals (bats, squirrels, rodents), and reptiles (especially lizards), caught in low quartering flight or quick stoops

Size

0.51 m

Wingspan

1.28 m