The Galapagos Hawk is a large, dark colored bird with broad wings and a broad tail. It is an active predator which feeds on small invertebrates such as small lizards, snakes and rodents. This hawk is known for its fearlessness and is a symbol of power in its habitat.
The scientific name of the Galapagos Hawk is ‘Buteo galapagoensis‘ and it belongs to the genus ‘Buteo‘ along with 27 other species of medium to large sized raptors. Some of them are commonly known as hawks, and others as buzzards. These terms mean the same thing really, it’s just Hawk is used more for ‘New World’ species, and Buzzard for those in the ‘Old World’.
Buteo is one of 24 genera that exist in the ‘Buteoninae‘ subfamily, and there are around 55 extant and recognised species in this subfamily today. This subfamily is part of the ‘Accipitridae‘ family which is one of three in the order of ‘Accipitriformes‘.
The Galapagos Hawk itself, is endemic to the Galapagos Archipelago, found on most of the islands, though now expected to be extinct locally in some of its historic range.
Characteristics And Appearance
Galapagos Hawks can grow to be 55 centimetres long with a wingspan of 120 centimetres. With less than 150 mating pairs in existence, you are more likely to see a Galapagos Hawk in the air, than to see it perched close by.
Galapagos Hawks have very good vision and they are more likely to spot you first, before you spot them while circling in the sky.
Being one of the Galapagos most important endemic scavengers, they play an important role at the ‘top’ of the food chain. With their broad wings and broad tails, Galapagos Hawks are well adapted for soaring the skies around the islands.
The adult Hawk has various colouring within the species. The adult Galapagos Hawk is generally a sooty brownish black colour; the crown being slightly blacker than the back. Their feathers of the mantle are partially edged with paler brown, grey, or buff, with their white bases showing to some extent. Their tail coverts are also barred with white. The tail itself is silvery grey above, with about ten narrow black bars; below it is quite pale. The wing feathers are paler on inner webs, barred with white.
Below it has indistinct rufous edges to the feathers of the flanks and lower abdomen. The under-tail coverts are barred with white. Under-wing coverts are black, contrasting with the pale bases of the wing quills. The eyes are brown, the beak greyish black, paler at its base which is known as the ‘cere’, legs and feet are yellow. The male Hawk is smaller than the female Hawk.
The young hawks however, appear quite different from the adults in that they are well camouflaged with an overall brown appearance with varying amounts of striping below and paler mottling above. Their eyes are light grey-brown, and the beak black, blue-grey at its base. The cere is grey-green, the feet pale yellow-green.
When the immature plumage becomes badly worn, the pale areas become almost white.
Diet
The Galapagos Hawk survives almost entirely on a carnivorous diet including giant centipedes, locusts, small lava lizards, snakes and rodents. It takes young marine iguanas rather commonly. It also catches young land iguanas, hatchling tortoises and probably also hatchling sea turtles. It has been seen to remain near nesting Fork-tailed Gulls and probably takes young and perhaps eggs of these and other birds, as well as poultry.
The Galapagos Hawks are very noisy birds and make almost screaming sounds when air-born. During mating season they tend to make a much softer ‘kilp kilp kilp’ sound.
Galapagos Hawks are very approachable birds, however, they will abandon their nest if it has been disturbed by humans.
Habitat and Location
Native to the Galapagos Islands, these hawks inhabit a range of environments including tropical dry forests, mountain peaks, shrublands, shorelines, and even bare lava fields. They are resident birds and do not migrate, staying within their range throughout their lives.
Predators of Galapagos Hawk
The Galapagos Hawk is an apex predator, meaning it is at the top of its food chain, and it doesn’t have natural predators in its habitat. But that’s not to say it doesn’t have its threats. Humans, and our impact are by far the biggest.
Conservation Status and Efforts
With an estimated population of around 400-500 individuals in 2015, the Galapagos Hawk is listed as ‘Vulnerable’ on the IUCN red list of endangered species. At the last assessment in 2021, that population had declined to around 270-330 mature birds but appears to be stable for now.
The main threats to their population include human disturbance, competition for food with introduced species, and persecution by humans. Conservation efforts are crucial to protect these majestic birds and maintain the ecological balance of the Galapagos Islands.
5 Fun Galapagos Hawk Facts for Kids
- The Galapagos Hawk is the largest native bird in the Galapagos Archipelago!
- They don’t have a regular mating season due to the unchanging seasons of the islands.
- These hawks are fearless but very sensitive to human disturbance and will abandon their nest if bothered by humans.
- They use their nests for many years, and the structures can become quite large, sometimes even 80-100 cm wide and up to 3 m deep!
- Young hawks look different from adults and have camouflage to protect them from predators.
