Short-tailed Hawk Photo Gallery
Adult light morph
Fairly small hawk with broad wings and long secondaries giving curve to trailing edge of wing. Light morph has neat white underparts including throat and narrow bands in tail.
© Dick Murray / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, June 26, 2018Adult dark morph
Dark morph has dark brown-black body and wing coverts. Flight feathers are barred white creating a checkered pattern. Tail has narrow white bands. In Florida, dark morphs individuals are more common than light morph.
© Luke Seitz / Macaulay LibraryPetén, December 18, 2016Adult dark morph
Soars high up before diving on perched birds. Note broad, slightly raised wings (can resemble Turkey Vulture flight). Dark morph (more common in Florida) shows white barring/checkering in the flight feathers even at distance.
© Benjamin Clock / Macaulay LibraryVeracruz, October 08, 2006Not all videos have soundAdult light morph
Fairly small hawk with contrast between dark brown upperparts and clean white underparts, including throat. At close range can show faint brown markings on the sides of the breast. Note narrow bands on tail, darkest at tip.
© Jorge Torres Apolo / Macaulay LibraryEl Oro, October 05, 2020Adult light morph
Fairly small hawk with dark brown upperparts, brown markings on sides of breast, and clean white underparts.
© Chris Wood / Macaulay LibraryNayarit, January 09, 2004Adult dark morph
When perched, dark morph appears entirely sooty brown-black.
© Mark R Johnson / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, January 21, 2016Juvenile dark morph
Fairly small hawk with broad wings and long, "bulging" secondaries. Juvenile dark morph is dark brown but strongly spotted or streaked with white.
© David Hall / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, December 27, 2018Juvenile light morph
Juvenile light morph is buffy white below and often shows buffy streaks on the cheek.
© David McQuade / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, September 01, 2018Juvenile light morph
Juvenile light morphs are buffy white below, though the amount of buff is variable. Note buffy feathering on face, unlike adult. Short-tailed Hawks specialize in hunting birds.
© Maritta (Dodo Colombia) / Macaulay LibraryDistrito Capital de Bogotá, May 10, 2020Compare with Similar Species
Click on an image to compare
Species in This Family
Hawks, Eagles, and Kites(Order: Accipitriformes, Family: Accipitridae)
Don't miss a thing! Join our email list
The Cornell Lab will send you updates about birds,
birding, and opportunities to help bird conservation.