Great Black Hawk

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Great Black Hawk in the UK

The Great Black Hawk has no accepted British record and is not on the British List in any category. There is no record from anywhere in Europe. It is a resident, non-migratory raptor found from Mexico through Central America to Peru and northern Argentina. The '2018 record' sometimes quoted belongs to North America. A bird photographed in Texas in April 2018 turned up at Biddeford, Maine, that August and later settled in a city park in Portland, Maine. It was rescued with frostbite in January 2019 and put down on 31 January.

Where the Great Black Hawk lives

Nowhere in the UK. A wild one reaching Britain is close to impossible, as it would need a tropical, non-migratory hawk to cross the Atlantic. Any large black hawk seen here would be an escaped falconry or zoo bird, or a misidentified dark Buzzard. To see one, travel to its range. It lives in lowland forest edge, mangroves, marshes and along rivers from Mexico south, and is often seen soaring over woodland from mid-morning.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Tropical wetlands (no British record).
Diet: Reptiles.
Field note: Never recorded in Britain or Europe.

How to identify a Great Black Hawk

Shaped like a Buzzard but larger: 56 to 64 cm long and about 1.1 kg, with very broad wings and long yellow legs. The adult is black all over apart from a white tail with a broad black band, and has a yellow cere. Immatures are dark brown above with spots and streaks, and buff below with dark spots, with several dark bars on the tail. It often hunts on foot, walking along riverbanks and through shallows, and soars on flat wings.

Call and song

A high, drawn-out piping whistle, 'ooo-wheeeeee', given in flight or from a perch. It sounds thin for such a large hawk.

Confusion species

• Common Black Hawk: Common Black Hawk, also American, is smaller with shorter legs and a black tail crossed by a single white band.
• Common Buzzard: A dark Buzzard is smaller, with pale bases to the flight feathers below and a finely barred grey-brown tail, never a white tail with a black band.

Related guide UK raptors and owls.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Great Black Hawk is a Legendary tier bird, worth +50 points when you log one. It is on our list as a European species. It is not on the British List.

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• Northern FlickerLegendary · Open woodland (no British record)
• Wandering AlbatrossLegendary · Southern Ocean (no British record)
• African SpoonbillLegendary · Wetlands (vagrant claim)
• American White PelicanLegendary · Wetlands (extreme vagrant)
• Dalmatian PelicanLegendary · Wetlands (extreme vagrant)
• Great White PelicanLegendary · Wetlands (extreme vagrant)

Great Black Hawk: quick answers

Has a Great Black Hawk ever been seen in the UK?

No. There is no British record and none for Europe. The well-known vagrant of 2018 was in the United States, first in Texas and then in Maine.

What does a Great Black Hawk eat?

A wide range of prey: reptiles, amphibians, fish, crabs, small mammals, birds, large insects and carrion, plus eggs and some fruit. Much of it is caught on the ground or in shallow water. It also raids waterbird colonies for eggs and chicks.

What habitat does Great Black Hawk live in?

Tropical lowlands near water. It uses forest edge, open woodland, mangroves, marshes and riverbanks from Mexico to northern Argentina. It does not migrate, which is why a bird as far north as Maine made headlines.

Kit that helps

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