Vorstman's Guideto the birds of the Andes and West Coast

All species › Birds of prey › Kites, Old World vultures, eagles and hawks

Kites, Old World vultures, eagles and hawks | Accipitridae

Havikachtigen | Águilas, milanos y afines | Kites, Old World vultures, eagles and hawks

All members share the same equipment: a hooked bill without the tooth falcons carry in the cutting edge, a powerful four-toed foot with sharp talons for holding prey or carrion, and broad wings with spread primary tips for gaining height on thermals, the tail serving as a rudder. They build a stick nest or take over someone else's, and lay small clutches of one to a few eggs, incubated mainly by the female while the male brings in the food. The eggs hatch one after another, so the young differ in size; they are fed on torn-off scraps and do not fledge for weeks. After that they wear a distinct juvenile plumage for one or more years, which makes putting a name to a bird harder in this family than in most other groups.

Native species 52 species

Species that occur here by nature: breeding birds, winter visitors and passage migrants. They are arranged by genus, in the sequence of the list.

Gampsonyx 1 species

Elanus 1 species

Leptodon 1 species

Chondrohierax 1 species

Elanoides 1 species

Spizaetus 4 species

Harpia 1 species

Morphnus 1 species

Accipiter 2 species

Astur 1 species

Circus 3 species

Harpagus 1 species

Microspizias 2 species

Ictinia 2 species

Geranospiza 1 species

Busarellus 1 species

Helicolestes 1 species

Rostrhamus 1 species

Morphnarchus 1 species

Cryptoleucopteryx 1 species

Buteogallus 6 species

Rupornis 1 species

Parabuteo 2 species

Pseudastur 2 species

Geranoaetus 3 species

Leucopternis 3 species

Buteo 7 species

Vagrants 3 species

Birds blown in from other continents. They have no range here, and so no distribution map.