Nombre en español: Gavilán Sabanero

Nombre en ingles: Savanna Hawk

Nombre científico: Buteogallus meridionalis

Familia: Accipitridae

Fotos: Juan Bernardo Arroyave/Mauricio Ossa

Audio: Marcelo Villegas (xeno-canto)

El gavilán cangrejero colorado o busardo sabanero (Buteogallus meridionalis) es una especie de ave accipitriforme de la familia Accipitridae ampliamente distribuida por Sudamérica, donde es posible su observación desde Panamá hasta el centro de Argentina. No se conocen subespecies.

Savanna hawk

The savanna hawk (Buteogallus meridionalis) is a large raptor found in open savanna and swamp edges. It was formerly placed in the genus Heterospizias. It breeds from Panama and Trinidad south to Bolivia, Uruguay and central Argentina.

Description

The savanna hawk is 46–61 cm (18–24 in) in length and weighs 845 g (29.8 oz). The adult has a rufous body with grey mottling above and fine black barring below. The flight feathers of the long broad wings are black, and the tail is banded black and white.^[2]^[3] The legs are yellow. The call is a loud scream keeeeru.

Immature birds are similar to the adults but have darker, duller upperparts, paler underparts with coarser barring, and a whitish supercilium. This species perches very vertically, and its legs are strikingly long.

Food and feeding

The savanna hawk feeds on small mammals, lizards, snakes, crabs and large insects. It usually sits on an open high perch from which it swoops on its prey, but will also hunt on foot, and several birds may gather at grass fires.