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White-tailed Hawks on the Texas Coastal Plain
A large hawk that can float like a kite.
© Fabio Rage
The White-tailed Hawk thrives in the grassy plains of the Texas Coastal Plain, where many tropical species reach the northern limit of their ranges. White-tailed Hawks often hunt by kiting: hovering like a kite in the breeze with the wings held in a “V” above the body, dropping suddenly on their prey. When a grass fire breaks out, they hunt small animals fleeing from the fire’s edge.
BirdNote®
White-tailed Hawks on the Texas Coastal Plain
Written by Bob Sundstrom
This is BirdNote.
[White-tailed Hawk call]
The Coastal Plain of Texas runs from the southern tip of the state to southwestern Louisiana. Here, many tropical species of birds reach the northern limit of their ranges, including this large bird of prey: the White-tailed Hawk. Unlike many other hawks, this species thrives here in the grassy plains dotted with mesquite, yucca, and a few scattered trees.
[White-tailed Hawk call]
They’re handsome hawks: slate gray above, offset by reddish-brown shoulder patches. The underside is immaculate white, and so is the tail, which ends in a neat black band. The wings are more than four feet across and very broad.
[White-tailed Hawk call]
White-tailed Hawks often hunt by kiting: hovering like a kite in the breeze with the wings held in a “V” above the body. From this position, a hawk can drop suddenly on prey like small mammals, birds, lizards and snakes. They snatch grasshoppers and other big insects from the air, quickly transferring them to the beak — a bit of dining on the wing.
When a grass fire breaks out, White-tailed Hawks gather quickly to hunt small animals fleeing from the fire’s edge.
[fire crackling]
[White-tailed Hawk call]
Otherwise, the handsome White-tailed Hawk is a shy bird of prey, staying a good distance from admiring observers.
[White-tailed Hawk call]
For BirdNote, I’m Ariana Remmel.
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Senior Producer: John Kessler
Content Director: Allison Wilson
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. White-tailed Hawk ML 537581501 recorded by Mauricio Cuéllar-Ramírez, and White-tailed Hawk ML 266595 recorded by Thiago Amaral.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2022 BirdNote February 2022 Narrator: Ariana Remmel
ID# WTHA-01-2022-02-28 WTHA-01
References:
https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/whthaw/cur/foodhabits
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-tailed_Hawk/overview#
https://www.shsu.edu/~dl_www/bkonline/471online/1.Physical/471.1.GeoReg…
Bob Sundstrom
Writer