Gray-lined Hawk

Buteo nitidus

Pale gray overall with yellow legs and base of bill; barred black-and-white tail. Subtle gray barring on underparts and upperparts. Adults extremely similar to Gray Hawk but essentially no range overlap; Gray Hawk lacks barring on back and crown. On adult in flight, note barred primary tips (black in Gray Hawk); absence of dark trailing edge to wings (present in Gray Hawk); dark gray uppertail coverts (white in Gray Hawk); and wider white subterminal tail band (all white tail bands equally wide in Gray Hawk). Lacks the rufous wing patches of Roadside Hawk. Juvenile most similar to Roadside Hawk; dark brown above and white below with dark streaks on underparts; note bolder white eyebrow and white cheek. Found singly in open wooded habitats, often perched conspicuously.

Identification

The gray-lined hawk is 46–61 cm (18–24 in) in length and weighs 475 g (16.8 oz) average. The adult has a pale gray body, the tail is black with three white bands and the legs are orange. It has fine white barring on the upper parts.Immature birds have dark brown upperparts, a pale-banded brown tail, brown-spotted white underparts and a brown streaked buff head and neck. This species is quite short-winged, and has a fast agile flight for a Buteo.

Taxonomy

Scientific name
Buteo nitidus
Authority
(Latham, 1790)
Order
Accipitriformes
Family
Accipitridae
Genus
Buteo

Range and habitat

Migration
Complete migrants

Conservation

Population trend
stable

Photos

Distribution

Bird Calls

Other Birds

Masked Antpitta

Masked Antpitta

Hylopezus auricularis

Medium-sized antpitta of floodplain forest, particularly with palmetto understory, along the confluence of the Ríos Madre de Dios and Bení in the Riberalta area. The only antpitta in range with dark chevrons on underparts or a blue-gray cap. Forages on or near the ground, but generally perches 1-2 m up in the understory or midstory to sing at dawn. Visually distinctive in range, but song deceptively similar to, and perhaps indistinguishable from, local songs of Amazonian Antshrike. Call a more distinctive three to four-part descending whistle.

Rufous-throated Bronze-Cuckoo

Rufous-throated Bronze-Cuckoo

Chalcites ruficollis

A small cuckoo of montane rainforest. Compact with a pale rufous throat and underparts with broad dark bands on a white background all the way to the tail. Sits motionless for long periods scanning for insect prey but sometimes joins mixed species flocks. Co-occurs with White-eared Bronze-Cuckoo but Rufous-throated lacks the white ear crescents and of course has the rufous throat. Voice, high piping notes, either level “peep!” or falling “piuu!” given singly or in a series.

Junin Grebe

Junin Grebe

Podiceps taczanowskii

Critically endangered grebe found only on Lake Junín in the high Andes of central Peru. Adults are gray and white with a ruby-red eye; young birds have a brownish tinge. Extremely similar to the far more common Silvery Grebe, but Junin Grebe is slightly larger with a longer bill, a skinnier neck, darker flanks, and a paler bill. These differences are more evident when both species are present, to allow for direct comparison. Not easily seen or identified from the lakeshore; a boat is usually needed for close-up views.

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