Birds of Prey … The Sport of Falconry
The Ridgway’s Hawks, Buteo ridgwayi, is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes eagles, hawks, and Old World vultures. Despite the name, this bird is a Buteo buzzard and not a true Accipiter hawk.
Distribution:
The Ridgway’s Hawk’s original breeding range included Haiti and the Dominican Republic (which make up the island of Hispaniola) and some of the adjacent isles and keys.
As of 2006, its only known population resides within Los Haitises National Park, in Northeastern Dominican Republic, which is mostly covered by wet limestone forest.
Description:
The Ridgway’s Hawks is a medium-sized, compact hawk, 36-41 cm long.
The adult has brown-grey upper parts, greyish barred underparts with a reddish-brown wash, rufous thighs, and a black-and-white barred tail.
The male is greyer than the female. Immature birds have buffy white underparts with grey and brown streaks.
Diet:
The Ridgway’s Hawks bird feeds on small mammals, birds, lizards and snakes.
Breeding / Nesting:
It nests in the crowns of tall trees, with nest-building in February and March and eggs laid in March and April.
Status:
This bird is critically endangered due to the clearance of its forest habitat. It has an estimated population of less than 200, making it, along with the Bay-breasted Cuckoo ( Coccyzus rufigularis ), the most threatened bird of Hispaniola.
This bird is named after the ornithologist Robert Ridgway.
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