Breeding Habitat:Grassland
Nest Type:N/A
Migration Status:Permanent resident
Nest Location:N/A
The White-tailed Hawk is a widely distributed occupant of grassland communities in Central and South America. Its range barely enters the United States, where the only established population occurs in portions of coastal Texas. This species may also have at one time been resident in southern Arizona (AOU 1983). In Texas, these hawks reside in coastal grasslands of the southern and central counties north to the Galveston area, preferring saltgrass flats near the Gulf of Mexico and dry grassy mesquite-live oak savannahs farther inland (Oberholser 1974).
The Texas population apparently declined through the 1950s. The conversion of grassland habitats to agriculture and an increase in brushy cover within remaining open grasslands contributed to this decline. Since 1960, brush removal activities have produced more favorable habitats for White- tailed Hawks, and some local increases have been reported (Oberholser 1974).
Given its very restricted range in the U.S., both the BBS and CBCs produce limited data for White-tailed Hawk. For example, this species has been recorded on fewer than 15 BBS routes. These data are insufficient to establish current population trends for this species.
American Ornithologists Union. 1983. Check-list of North American
birds, 6th ed. Allen Press, Lawrence, KS. 877 pp.
Oberholser, H.C. 1974. The bird life of Texas, Vol. 1.
University of Texas Press, Austin, TX. 530 pp.