English            -               Roadside Hawk

Portuguese    -               Gavião-carijó

Latin                -               Rupornis magnirostris

The Roadside Hawk was a common sight in my travels around Brazil. Quite an easy bird to photograph. You can get reasonable close to them without disturbing them to much. The first 2 above photos were taken on different days and in different locations in the Pantanal in Mato Grosso do Sul. The third photo was taken just outside the grounds of REGUA (Reserva Ecológica de Guapiaçu) in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

* Like most birds of prey the female Roadside Hawk is larger than the male.

* The Roadside Hawk is a relatively small bird of prey with a length of 41 cm and weighs around 300 g.   

* It’s calls is like a painful shout similar to a  rreeaew. 

* It is common throughout its range: from Mexico through Central America and most of South America east of the Andes.

* The Roadside Hawk lives in open to semi-open areas, forest borders, roadsides and plantations. Unlikely to find them in forest interior and in arid lands. They live between 0 and 1500 metres above sea level.

* This species has a very variable diet, including insects, reptiles, small mammals, birds and in some areas fish.

* The female lays 1-2 whitish eggs with brown markings. The incubation period lasts up to 37 days. The nestlings will fledge after 38 days.

* The Roadside Hawk is not globally threatened. Its widespread and generally very common. Commonest hawk in a wide variety of habitats throughout much of its extensive range. Therefore it is classified as a species ”of least concern”.