Photo: Fernando Flores from Caracas, Venezuela / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)
Common Black Hawk
Buteogallus anthracinus
Common Black Hawk (Buteogallus anthracinus) — Birds of Prey of North America.
Found across 20 guides in our atlas — open any for the full checklist, photos and what's around right now.
The Common Black Hawk (Buteogallus anthracinus) is a member of the Accipitridae family found in Central America & Caribbean, North America and South America. Adults weigh 975 g. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.
Conservation status
IUCN Red List (opens in a new tab)Widespread and abundant — not currently at risk.
Where it fits
- Class Aves
- Order Accipitriformes
- Family Accipitridae Kites, Hawks, Eagles
- Genus Buteogallus
- Species anthracinus
Where it lives
Southwestern USA to northwestern SA
Quick facts
- Weight
- 975 g
- Diet
- Aquatic hunters
- Family
- Accipitridae
- Order
- Accipitriformes
- Habitat
- Woodland
How to identify
Similar birds
Least Concern
Vulnerable
Endangered
Least Concern
Biology & behaviour
Diet
The Common Black Hawk hunts aquatic prey such as fish and aquatic invertebrates.
Behaviour
A bird of semi-open woodland, it spends much of its time perched in trees and shrubs.
Migration
The Common Black Hawk is largely sedentary, staying within its range year-round rather than making regular long-distance migrations.
The Common Black Hawk (Buteogallus anthracinus) belongs to the Accipitridae family of the order Accipitriformes. It is found across Central America & Caribbean, North America and South America. Its distribution covers NA, MA, SA sw USA to nw SA.
It is a very large bird. Adults weighs around 975 g, with a wing length of about 35.5 cm and a tail of around 20.6 cm.
The IUCN Red List currently assesses it as Least Concern. That category covers species that remain widespread and reasonably abundant in the wild.
The species has a mapped global range of roughly 1.9 million km².
Songs & calls
Frequently asked questions
How big is the Common Black Hawk?
The Common Black Hawk is a very large bird that weighs around 975 g.
Where does the Common Black Hawk live?
The Common Black Hawk is found across Central America & Caribbean, North America and South America with a range covering NA, MA, SA sw USA to nw SA, where it favours woodland, forest and well-treed country.
What family does the Common Black Hawk belong to?
The Common Black Hawk (Buteogallus anthracinus) belongs to the Accipitridae family, in the order Accipitriformes.
What does the Common Black Hawk eat?
The Common Black Hawk hunts aquatic prey such as fish and aquatic invertebrates.
Does the Common Black Hawk migrate?
The Common Black Hawk is largely sedentary, staying within its range year-round rather than making regular long-distance migrations.
Is the Common Black Hawk endangered?
The IUCN Red List currently assesses it as Least Concern That category covers species that remain widespread and reasonably abundant in the wild.
What sound does the Common Black Hawk make?
1 real field recording of the Common Black Hawk — including its call — can be played in the Songs & calls section on this page, credited to the recordist who captured it.
How large is the Common Black Hawk's range?
The Common Black Hawk has a mapped global range of about 1.9 million km².
Conservation
Every bird benefits from bird-safe windows, native plants, and keeping cats indoors. Small changes at home add up to real protection.
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Guides for this bird
Meet the Accipitridae
A field guide to the Accipitridae family — 254 species in the Birbs encyclopedia, with the best-known members to start with.