White-tailed Hawk
Buteo albicaudatus
aguililla cola-blanca
Voice: David Sibley describes the voice as, “a rather high, laughing reeeEEE ke-HAK ke-HAK keHAK…..also a high harsh kareeeev, sneezy tseef….”
Status: Uncommon, local resident of the Lower Rio Grande Valley from the mid-valley east to the coastal plain. Fairly common on US 77 just north of the Valley between Armstrong and Raymondville.
Habitat: Coastal savanna and associated loma (clay dune woodland) mottes; often concentrate around mid-Valley sugar cane fields in winter, especially during burning and harvest.
Best Spots: Along a 50-mile stretch of US 77 just north of Raymondville to Armstrong; along highway 100 east of Los Fresnos to Port Isabel; along HW east of Brownsville; sugar cane fields in mid-Valley from Mission to Harlingen.
Similar Species: Adult White-tailed Hawk most closely resembles Swainson’s Hawk, but is stockier and has white tail, no breast band, and pointed wings. Juveniles and 2nd-year birds differ from Swainson’s by having a light tail, white breast patch, and dark leading edge of wing; differ from “Harlan’s Red-tailed Hawk by dark flight feathers, light tail, and wing shape (pointed wing tips).
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