The ornate hawk-eagle (''Spizaetus ornatus'') is a fairly large bird of prey from the

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

Americas. Formerly, some authorities referred to this species as the crested hawk-eagle, a name that may cause some confusion as it is more commonly used for an Asian eagle species.Friedmann H. (1935). ''A new race of the Crested Hawk-eagle Spizaetus ornatus''. Journal of the Washington Academy of Sciences, 25 (10): 450-451. Like all

eagle Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...

s, it is in the family Accipitridae. This species has a feathered tarsus that marks it as a member of the '' Aquilinae'' or booted eagle subfamily.Lerner, H., Christidis, L., Gamauf, A., Griffiths, C., Haring, E., Huddleston, C.J., Kabra, S., Kocum, A., Krosby, M., Kvaloy, K., Mindell, D., Rasmussen, P., Rov, N., Wadleigh, R., Wink, M. & Gjershaug, J.O. (2017). ''Phylogeny and new taxonomy of the Booted Eagles (Accipitriformes: Aquilinae)''. Zootaxa, 4216(4), 301-320. This

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

is notable for the vivid colors and bold markings of adults, which differ considerably from the far more whitish plumage of the juvenile bird.Clark, W. S., & Schmitt, N. J. (2017). ''Raptors of Mexico and Central America''. Princeton University Press. The ornate hawk-eagle ranges from central

Mexico Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...

south through much of

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

and in a somewhat spotty but broad overall range into

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the souther ...

, including in the west apart from the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

and broadly on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

side especially

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

down to as far as Southeast Brazil and northern

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

. This species is found largely in

primary forests An old-growth forestalso termed primary forest, virgin forest, late seral forest, primeval forest, or first-growth forestis a forest that has attained great age without significant disturbance, and thereby exhibits unique ecological feature ...

with tall trees, although can be found in many forest types. The ornate hawk-eagle female lays almost always a single egg and the species has a fairly prolonged breeding cycle like many tropical raptors, especially due to a lengthy post-fledging stage on which juveniles are dependent on their parents.Phillips, R. A., & Hatten, C. J. (2013). ''Nest observations on the Ornate Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus ornatus) in Belize, Central America''. Boletin SAO, 22. It is a diversified and exceptionally powerful predator which takes a range of prey, usually various medium-to-large-sized

bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...

s and small-to-medium-sized mammals as well as occasional reptiles.Klein, B. C., Harper, L. H., Bierregaard, R. O., & Powell, G. V. (1988). ''The nesting and feeding behavior of the ornate hawk-eagle near Manaus, Brazil''. The Condor, 90(1), 239-241. Like many forest-dependent raptors, especially those in the tropical and subtropical regions, this species is likely under the pressing threat of

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then land conversion, converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban area, urban ...

. The decline of forest habitat in this species range, especially the Amazon rainforest, led the IUCN to uplist the ornate hawk-eagle as Near Threatened in 2016.

Taxonomy

The ornate hawk-eagle is a member of the

booted eagle The booted eagle (''Hieraaetus pennatus'', also classified as ''Aquila pennata'') is a medium-sized mostly migratory bird of prey with a wide distribution in the Palearctic and southern Asia, wintering in the tropics of Africa and Asia, with a ...

subfamily, with the signature well-feathered tarsus present on both tropical and temperate species (and shared, presumably through

convergent evolution Convergent evolution is the independent evolution of similar features in species of different periods or epochs in time. Convergent evolution creates analogous structures that have similar form or function but were not present in the last com ...

, with a pair of buteonine hawks). It is one of four living members of the '' Spizaetus'' species of "hawk-eagle" native to the neotropics. At one time Old World hawk-eagles, native to various southern areas of

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...

, were also included in the ''Spizaetus'' genus. However, genetic studies have shown the Asian group of species to be

paraphyletic In taxonomy (general), taxonomy, a group is paraphyletic if it consists of the group's most recent common ancestor, last common ancestor and most of its descendants, excluding a few Monophyly, monophyletic subgroups. The group is said to be pa ...

, resulting in the

Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by th ...

members being placed in '' Nisaetus'' (Hodgson, 1836) and separated from the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...

species.Helbig, A.J, Kocum, A., Seibold, I. & Braun, M.J. (2005). ''A multi-gene phylogeny of aquiline eagles (Aves: Accipitriformes) reveals extensive paraphyly at the genus level''. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 35(1):147-164.Haring, E., Kvaløy, K., Gjershaug, J. O., Røv, N., & Gamauf, A. (2007). ''Convergent evolution and paraphyly of the hawk‐eagles of the genus Spizaetus (Aves, Accipitridae)–phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial markers''. Journal of Zoological Systematics and Evolutionary Research, 45(4), 353-365. The history of the American ''Spizaetus'' genus has been indicated by the diversity of hawk-eagles found in the fossil records in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and

. At least five such species have been described, having presumably radiated from basal hawk-eagles of Asian origin across the Bering Land Bridge. Studies have indicated that some of these are ancestors of modern ''Spizaetus'' species, with the genera having been present in North America at least since the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58harpy eagle (''Harpia harpyja''). Studies based on the genetic markers indicated the black-and-white hawk-eagle (''Spizaetus melanoleucus'') and, especially, the black-and-chestnut eagle (''Spizaetus isidori'') are closely related to the ornate hawk-eagle, resulting in their respective former genera of ''Spizastur'' and ''Oroaetus'' being eliminated. The fourth neotropical hawk-eagle, the black hawk-eagle (''Spizaetus tyrannus''), has been found to be

basal Basal or basilar is a term meaning ''base'', ''bottom'', or ''minimum''. Science * Basal (anatomy), an anatomical term of location for features associated with the base of an organism or structure * Basal (medicine), a minimal level that is nec ...

to the other extant species. Per genetic research, the ornate hawk-eagle and black-and-chestnut eagle are considered as sister species. The ornate hawk-eagle has been diagnosed to include two subspecies. The nominate subspecies (''S. o. ornatus'') occupies a good deal of the

n range of the species, including eastern Colombia,

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in ...

and all of the species range in

and points south. The second subspecies, ''S. o. vicarius'', has been described to inhabit the discontinuous northern part of the range, extending from

and

down through much of western Colombia and western

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...

down as far south as El Oro.Iliff, M. (2010). ''Ornate Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus ornatus)'', Neotropical Birds Online (TS Schulenberg, Editor). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. The subspecies seem to differ mostly in the plumage characteristics of adults. Whereas nominate birds are a more cinnamon-hued color on the neck with slightly paler ground color and sparser markings about the head and undersides, ''S. o. vicarius'', tends to be darker overall, with a richer, deeper more rufous color around the neck, denser and darker markings overall and broader bands on the tail.

Description

This is a medium-to-large sized species of raptor but a fairly small eagle. In the ornate hawk-eagle, the sexes are similar in appearance and overlap in size but like most birds of prey do show reverse sexual dimorphism, in which females outsize males to the contrary of most non-raptorial birds. The biggest female ornate hawk-eagles are 13% larger than biggest males, with an average of about 8% greater in nominate race. In Central America, in extreme cases, the largest females are as much as 50% heavier than the smallest males. The species is slightly smaller than the largest members of widespread raptor genera such as the largest '' Buteo'' and '' Falco'' species but is usually larger than other forest raptors in its range apart from vultures and other eagle species. The total length of full grown ornate hawk-eagle is .Howell, S. N., & Webb, S. (1995). ''A guide to the birds of Mexico and northern Central America''. Oxford University Press. Average total length is estimated at for males and for females.Vallely, A. C., & Dyer, D. (2018). ''Birds of Central America: Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama (Vol. 136)''. Princeton University Press. The wingspan may range from . Body mass can vary in males from and in females from . The average weight of five adult males was while another five males averaged .Whitacre, D. F., & Jenny, J. P. (2013). ''Neotropical birds of prey: biology and ecology of a forest raptor community''. Cornell University Press. The average weight of four adult females was while a sample of 11 averaged . Among standard measurements, wing chord measures from in males and in females against ''S. o. vicarius'' in which wing chord is known to measure in males and in females. In tail length, males vary from and females from . The culmen from cere measures in males and . In tarsus length, males may measure and females may measure . Average wing chord lengths from Guatemala (''S. o. vicarius''), showed 7 males to average and 8 females to average . Meanwhile, in the same sample, mean tail length was in males and in females and mean tarsus length was and in the sexes, respectively. The largest rear talon (or hallux claw) present on all accipitrids (usually the main killing tool in these predator's arsenal) is particularly enlarged on the ornate hawk-eagle relative to its size, averaging about in males and in females from Guatemala, with an average foot span for both sexes measuring around . Spizaetus ornatus crop

Ornate hawk-eagles largely perch within the tree canopy, but will sometimes be out on exposed branches especially earlier in the morning. Usually soaring activity peaks in the late morning. Brown & Amadon (1986) described the species are "rather stolid and buteonine, despite the long tail and crest".Brown, Leslie and Amadon, Dean (1986). ''Eagles, Hawks and Falcons of the World''. The Wellfleet Press. . Adults are largely distinguishable by their rufous cowls and bold barring below.Fagan, J., & Komar, O. (2016). ''Peterson field guide to birds of northern Central America. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Furthermore, all ornate hawk-eagles bear a long erectile crest, which may variously be laid flat against the head, protrude straight up like a spike or sometimes hang at a slight curve. Adults when perched have an obvious black crown, crest and malar stripes (continuing to sides as isolated streaks) sets off by the rufous color on their cheeks, ear-coverts and sides of the neck and chest (sometimes completely covering their upper chests), the rufous shading into a somewhat browner rufous nape. On the upperside, they are barred blackish to dark brown with usually apparent white tips on the mantle and lesser wing coverts. Meanwhile, on the underside, they have a whitish base color which, other than the often plain throat, is boldly overlaid with black barring. This barring extends down to the abdomen and legs, while the

crissum The following is a glossary of common English language terms used in the description of birds—warm-blooded vertebrates of the class Aves and the only living dinosaurs, characterized by , the ability to in all but the approximately 60 extan ...

is spotted black. Like many forest raptors, the species has relatively short wings and a longish tail.Van Perlo, B. (2009). ''A field guide to the birds of Brazil''. Oxford University Press. When perched, their wing tips slightly exceed their tail base. The tail is blackish with a creamy whitish tip and three broad pale bands, which are greyish above and whitish below, the basal bar often being obscured. According to Brown & Amadon "the perched bird seemingly has legs set very far forward, almost under the chest, thus giving the impression of posed readiness. The position of the black crest hints at the bird's temper at the moment". Juvenile differ conspicuously in many respects, generally lacking most of the pigment visible in adults. Juveniles lack the adults' rufous collar, malar stripes and underside barring. Instead, the juvenile's whole head and underparts are white excepting thin black streaks on the crown and the tip of their crest. Some juvenile ornate hawk-eagles do, however, show variable, light dark brown barring and spotting on the flanks and thighs, at even may manifest a vestigial moustache on the face. The juvenile's back and wings are dark brown with white-tipped blackish shoulders. The tail is somewhat similar to the adult's but has a broader white tip and at least 4-5 thinner bands, which like those of the adult are greyish above and whitish below. By their 2nd year, the young hawk-eagles enter an intermediate or subadult plumage that quickly starts to resemble that of the adults but is rather more faded in appearance. The subadult's face is a sandy to pale rufous color with an indistinct malar stripe, while the flanks, belly and legs increasingly start to manifest barring and spotting. The subadult's back is still largely dark brown but tends to appear increasingly blackish. Adults have orangish-yellow eyes, with a dull greenish to grey color on the cere and bare lores, while the feet are rich cream to pale yellow. Juveniles have white to whitish-yellow eyes, a yellow to bluish-grey cere and brighter yellow to orange feet. Apparently, the legs of juveniles are often less thickly feathered than those of adults. In flight it may appear intermediate in size, being large relative to most forest raptors but rather small and slender-bodied for an eagle. The flying ornate hawk-eagle is prominent headed with short, broad rounded wings that show an emphasis on the bulging secondaries and pinch in at the bases of the trailing edges. Flight of the species is deep and powerful with the wings held flattish and pressed slightly forward, while the tail may be closed to slightly spread. From above, adult has a rufous cowl, a blackish mantle and a slightly brownish black back and wings with white-tipped shoulders and tail coverts. Below the underwing is paler looking relative to body with flecking or speckling only on the hand and thinly barred flight feathers. In flight, the juvenile ornate hawk-eagle is mainly dark brown above with whitish scaled blackish-brown shoulders. Below, the juvenile's wings have scattered spots on the axillaries and great

wing-coverts A covert feather or tectrix on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts (or ''tectrices''), which, as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail. Ear coverts The ear coverts are s ...

, blackish tips to the white based outer primaries and thin barring on the other flight feathers, at times matching the patterning of the tail. By the second year, there is an only moderate increase to the flecks and spots on the wing linings, as the flight feathers and tail are the last to molt away from the juvenile-like look to those like adults.

Confusion species

While adult ornate hawk-eagles are obviously distinctly marked from most other raptors, one species strikingly resembles this predator, the juvenile of the

gray-bellied hawk The grey-bellied hawk or grey-bellied goshawk (''Accipiter poliogaster'') is a fairly large and rare species of forest-dwelling South American bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Taxonomy Dutch naturalist Coenraad Jacob Temminck described ...

(''Accipiter poliogaster'') which is extremely different looking from the respective plumage of adult gray-bellieds. While not definitely proven, this is quite possibly a case of

mimicry In evolutionary biology, mimicry is an evolved resemblance between an organism and another object, often an organism of another species. Mimicry may evolve between different species, or between individuals of the same species. Often, mimicry ...

, as is known in other raptor assemblages wherein a less powerful species (the hawk) mimics a more powerful species (the hawk-eagle) presumably to mitigate potential predatory attacks. Distant gray-bellied hawks are best told apart by their very different proportions and build both in flight and perched. The gray-bellied hawks are typical of an '' Accipiter'', having broader and much shorter wings, relatively more elongated tail and signature flap-flap-glide flight style. Although the gray-bellied hawk is by a slight margin the largest member of that genus in

, it is still considerably smaller than the hawk-eagle, averaging about a third smaller in length. At close range, it may noticeably differ, beyond the size discrepancy, by the hawk being crestless and bearing relatively long, featherless and yellow legs. Black hawk-eagles are fairly similarly shaped and similarly sized as the ornate hawk-eagle when seen in flight but are slightly larger in appearance, being longer tailed and longer winged. Nonetheless, the ornate hawk-eagle usually is slightly heavier on average than the black hawk-eagle and may appear chestier in perched birds than the more

gracile Gracility is slenderness, the condition of being gracile, which means slender. It derives from the Latin adjective ''gracilis'' (masculine or feminine), or ''gracile'' ( neuter), which in either form means slender, and when transferred for examp ...

black species. Confusion with the adult black hawk-eagle is unlikely given that it is always much darker, appear solidly soot colored apart from its heavily barred wings. Juveniles and late first years stages of the black hawk-eagle are most likely to be confused in distant flight with perhaps a subadult ornate, however the juvenile black hawk-eagle is always much more heavily barred below with dark cheeks separating the white supericilia and throat. Haverschmidt (1968) mentioned a "dark morph" of the ornate hawk-eagle that he said was "nearly impossible" to distinguish from the black hawk-eagle but this is considered most likely to have been a misidentified black hawk-eagle in intermediate plumage. The juvenile ornate hawk-eagle is potentially confusable with the black-and-white hawk-eagle but the latter is smaller with boxier wings, shorter crest, a bold orange cere, a strong black mask and a blacker upper-body with white leading edges. Also the black-and-white bears no spots or barring on its wings and has a plain white underbody. The black-and-white species is more similar to an '' Accipiter'' in proportions than the ornate species, having relatively less expansive wings and somewhat more elongated looking tail. Juveniles are told from the similar juvenile black-and-chestnut eagle by their smaller size and by having more extensive spots and barring on the under wing (giving the differences in altitudinal range, overlap in distribution is likely very minimal).Ridgely, R. S., & Greenfield, P. J. (2001). ''The birds of Ecuador. Vol. 2, A field guide''. Christopher Helm. Juvenile hook-billed kite (''Chondrohierax uncinatus'') are also potentially confusable with juvenile ornates but the kite is much smaller and more dumpily built with more paddle-shaped wings, a squarer tail, with clearer bars on remiges and rectrices and bare tarsi. Another kite, the gray-headed kite (''Leptodon cayanensis'') can be considered similar in plumage in its adult plumage to the juvenile ornate but it is rather smaller with very different shape in all respects (especially in its small, pigeon-like head), completely different underwing pattern and unmarked body but for grey crown and nape. Pale juvenile crested eagles (''Morphnus guianensis'') appear much larger and longer tailed than juvenile ornate hawk-eagles with dark grey rather than dark brown backs, unbarred flanks and have a less marked hand in flight contrasting with more boldly barred primary quills. Despite the ornate species not infrequently being described as “slim”, in actuality, the much bigger looking crested eagle is much lighter for its size and only averages about 30% heavier than the ornate (i.e. other eagle species around the same total length as the crested eagle weigh about three times as much as the ornate species).Smith, J. W. (2012). ''Crested Eagle (Morphnus guianensis)'', version 1.0. In Neotropical Birds Online (T. S. Schulenberg, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. Despite its somewhat similar plumage and appearance to the crested eagle, the harpy eagle is far more massive than the ornate hawk-eagle (nearly five times heavier on average) and unlikely to be confused with any plumage of the smaller species.

Vocalization

The main call known for the ornate hawk-eagle is a series of loud piping whistles. It is emitted by the soaring bird, usually male, and is often transcribed as , the repeated anywhere from 2 to 9 times. Numerous variations are known are given in terms of transcription but most sources describe in roughly similar ways.Stiles, F. G., & Skutch, A. F. (1989). ''Guide to the birds of Costa Rica''. Comistock.Ridgely, R. S., & Gwynne, J. A. (1989). ''A guide to the birds of Panama: with Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and Honduras''. Princeton University Press.Ffrench, R., O'Neill, J. P., & Eckelberry, D. R. (1991). ''Guide to the birds of Trinidad and Tobago''. Illustrated by John P. O'Neill. Unlike the call of the black hawk-eagle, similarly done in flying display, the ornate hawk-eagle the introductory series of notes is more hurried and the last note more drawn out. It has been noted by some authors that the ornate species' call in nearly a reverse of the pattern of the calling black hawk-eagle which calls , the first note being longest and slurred, second note highest, followed by descending short notes. While perched, ornate hawk-eagle may let out a followed by an accelerating series of excited sounding laughing notes. Other reported call include a reminiscent of a limpkin (''Aramus guarauna'') call and a

cat The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...

-like scream when disturbed. Perched juveniles have a food begging call consisting of a loud, clear whistle, which is repeatedly irregularly and transcribed as''wheeu'' or ''wheee''. While nesting, the male when arriving with food announces his presence with a ''pitpit'' call repeated four times. The most common form of call by the female is emitted during food begging, a note, which is usually repeated about four times. She may also call out a sharp when being mobbed by small birds. A further call was once attributed to an ornate hawk-eagle that was hunting a guan was a very deep growl, reminiscent of a

big cat The term "big cat" is typically used to refer to any of the five living members of the genus '' Panthera'', namely the tiger, lion, jaguar, leopard, and snow leopard. Despite enormous differences in size, various cat species are quite simil ...

, to such a degree that the witnesses initially thought the guan was being pursued by a jaguar (''Panthera onca''). However, further analysis has indicated that it was the guan itself that had let out the big catlike growl (possibly in an effort to startle the predator and perhaps successfully as the guan escaped) and not, in likelihood, the hawk-eagle itself.Slud, P. (1964). ''The birds of Costa Rica: distribution and ecology. Las aves de Costa Rica: distribución y ecología''. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist, 128, 1-430.Kilham, L. (1978). ''Alarm call of crested guan when attacked by ornate hawk-eagle''. The Condor, 80(3), 347-348.

Range and habitat

The ornate hawk-eagle has the largest distribution of the nine species of eagle endemic to the neotropics, ranging over an estimated 20.2 million square kilometers in total. This is a largely sedentary species, but some local dispersal is known to occur and individuals wander into drier forest and higher altitudes than normal. The species ranges as far north as southeastern

, where it is found on the Caribbean slope from southern

Tamaulipas Tamaulipas (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tamaulipas ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tamaulipas), is a state in the northeast region of Mexico; one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal Entiti ...

, on Pacific more infrequently in

Jalisco Jalisco (, , ; Nahuatl: Xalixco), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Jalisco ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Jalisco ; Nahuatl: Tlahtohcayotl Xalixco), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Federal ...

and east

Oaxaca ) , population_note = , population_rank = 10th , timezone1 = CST , utc_offset1 = −6 , timezone1_DST = CDT , utc_offset1_DST = −5 , postal_code_type = Postal ...

. In their Mexican range, their status is uncertain in Colima, where it may be extirpated.Aranda, M., Burton, A., Iñigo-Elías, E., & Escalante, P. (2009). ''Registro del águila elegante (Spizaetus ornatus) en la Reserva de la Biosfera sierra de Manantlán, Jalisco-Colima, México''. Revista mexicana de biodiversidad, 80(1), 265-268. Reportage of the species is known in the Mexican states of

Guerrero Guerrero is one of the 32 states that comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in Municipalities of Guerrero, 81 municipalities and its capital city is Chilpancingo and its largest city is Acap ...

and

Nayarit Nayarit (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nayarit ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Nayarit), is one of the 31 states that, along with Mexico City, comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 20 municipalities and its ...

but these could pertain to wandering individuals. Nesting remains unconfirmed throughout west Mexico and since most birds seen are juveniles, these could refer to post-dispersal wanderers. The species is found almost continuously through

Belize Belize (; bzj, Bileez) is a Caribbean and Central American country on the northeastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a wa ...

, Guatemala,

El Salvador El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by ...

, Honduras and

Nicaragua Nicaragua (; ), officially the Republic of Nicaragua (), is the largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, bordered by Honduras to the north, the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean to the east, Costa Rica to the south, and the Pacific Ocean to ...

into Costa Rica and

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

(including the isle of Coiba). In Panama, it is much more numerous on the more humid Caribbean side than the drier slopes of the Pacific, being especially scarce in the

Panama canal zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...

and Azuero Peninsula, but can occur in more humid parts of the Pacific side. A similar distributional favoring of the more humid Caribbean coast has been noted elsewhere in Central America as well. In South America, the range continues locally west of the

(formerly at least to tropical western

), being somewhat more commonly found north and east of the Andes in Colombia, northern and central

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much List of islands of Trinidad and Tobago, small ...

, eastern Ecuador and the Guianas. In

, it occupies nearly two-thirds of the large country south to Paraná and marginally into Santa Catarina and Rio Grande do Sul but is largely (if not entirely) absent from

Mato Grosso do Sul Mato Grosso do Sul () is one of the Midwestern states of Brazil. Neighboring Brazilian states are (from north clockwise) Mato Grosso, Goiás, Minas Gerais, São Paulo and Paraná. It also borders the countries of Paraguay, to the southwest, a ...

Minas Gerais Minas Gerais () is a state in Southeastern Brazil. It ranks as the second most populous, the third by gross domestic product (GDP), and the fourth largest by area in the country. The state's capital and largest city, Belo Horizonte (literall ...

and more or less the entirety of the northeast region. Their distribution continues through eastern

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

, northern, central and eastern

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

, southern

Paraguay Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...

and northwestern (down to Tucumán) and northeastern Argentina (down to Santa Fe), though it has been wondered if the northeast occurrences are merely incidental wanderings of juveniles from adjacent populations. Despite its wide distribution, the species is frequently quite uncommon to increasingly rare in several parts of the range, though can outnumber other eagles (apart from the slightly more adaptable black hawk-eagle). This species dwells in well forested regions, preferring tall, wet or humid, tropical and subtropical forests. Although some of the species can dwell in dry tropical forest this is usually quite secondary habitat.Piana, R. P., Crespo, S., Angulo, F., Ormaeche, E., & Alzamora, M. (2010). ''Grey Hawk Buteo nitidus and Ornate hawk-Eagle Spizaetus ornatus in north-west Peru''. Cotinga, 32, 106-108. More so than black hawk-eagles, the ornate hawk-eagle tends to be found primarily only in unbroken primary forest tracts. Some records indicate that the ornate hawk-eagle may persist on tracts of forest down to only but usually such extensive

causes the species to vacate the area.Zorzin, G., Carvalho, C. E. A., Carvalho Filho, E. P. M., & Canuto, M. (2006). ''Novos registros de Falconiformes raros e ameaçados para o estado de Minas Gerais''. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 14(4), 417-421.Martinez-Sanchez, J. C. (1986). ''Causes affecting the survival of birds of prey in Nicaragua''. Birds of prey Bulletin, 3, 43-47.Clinton-Eitniear, J. (1986). ''Status of the large forest eagles of Belize''. Birds Prey Bull, 3, 107-110. The ornate hawk-eagle may be found at sea level to , also rarely to about . However, they've been recorded wandering to in Costa Rica. The species adapts quite well to

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest (TMCF), is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, montane, moist forest characterized by a persistent, frequent or seasonal low-level cloud ...

habitat which are usually at higher elevations than typical

rainforest Rainforests are characterized by a closed and continuous tree canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforest can be classified as tropical rainforest or temperate rainfo ...

habitats (i.e. in primary cloud forest of southern Mexico, the ornate hawk-eagle was one of the two most frequently recorded raptor species).Iñigo-Elias, E., Ramos, E., & Gonzáles, F. (1989). ''Some ecological aspects of two primary evergreen forest raptor communities compared with cultivated tropical areas in southern Mexico''. Meyburg, B.-U. & Chancellor, RD (eds): Raptors in the modern world. WWGBP: Berlin, London & Paris. 529-543 p. In some areas, the hawk-eagles may occasional habituate partially to

edges Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...

, riversides and other openings, also into gallery strips and relatively short swamp forest. Deciduous forests, mixed

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family (biology), family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanic ...

- oak, taller stretches of secondary forests and shade coffee plantations, as long they have tall native tree canopies, may be visited and even locally nested in, as was recorded in

.Iñigo-Elias, E., Ramos, M., & González, F. (1987). ''Two recent records of neotropical eagles in southern Veracruz, México''. The Condor, 89(3), 671-672. In Guatemala, they are often fairly distant from openings and dwell almost entirely in primary forest, especially areas where at least one very tall tree emerged above the average canopy level and there is less forest understory to more easily execute hunting. The Guatemalan hawk-eagles preferred fairly homogenous forest in drier upland parts of the humid forest, since the hilly areas of the forest tended to have more of the aforementioned habitat characteristic. However, the hawk-eagles here did sometimes occur in scrub-swamp forests as long as it retained tall trees, however the ornate hawk-eagles who nested in scrub-swamp forest type often went to the upland areas to hunt.

Dietary habits

The ornate hawk-eagle is a powerful predator that readily varies its prey selection among two main prey groups. Largely the most significant prey for the species are medium to large sized

s. The other main prey type are a variety of small to medium-sized mammals. On occasion, reptiles may form a seldom part of the diet. This species largely forages inside forests, often perch-hunting. This entails short flights from tree to tree at mid-story heights while foraging or still-hunting from inconspicuous vantage points near the center of a dense canopy. Upon prey detection, they swoop to grasp the prey on the ground or in trees or engage in tail chases among trees.Lyon, B., & Kuhnigk, A. (1985). ''Observations on nesting ornate hawk-eagles in Guatemala''. Wilson Bulletin, 97(2), 141-147. The agility imparted by its relative small and broad wings and longish tail and talent for tail-chases in enclosed woods and thickets are why this and similar eagles are referred to as “hawk-eagles”, in reference to similar hunting styles in the “true hawks” i.e. the members of the '' Accipiter'' genus. In size, tail length and hunting style, the ornate hawk-eagle in particular is quite similar to the largest races of the largest ''Accipiter'' species, the northern goshawk (''Accipiter gentilis'').Acosta-Chaves, V., Granados, F., & Araya, D. (2012). ''Predation of Long-tailed Silky Flycatcher (Ptilogonys caudatus) by Ornate Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus ornatus) in a cloud forest of Costa Rica''. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 20(4), 451-452. Most witnessed tail-chases by this species have involved chasing various gamebirds, with about equal accounts of successful and unsuccessful pursuits. In Guatemala, most attacks were launched when the hawk-eagle was from its quarry, with all successful attacks on prey on ground or low bushes and were from perches at high or lower in the trees. In Manú National Park,

, most observed attacks were untaken within about of the prey and prey was attacked mostly on the ground, although they also captured rails from shallow water (in one case losing a gallinule rail to a nearby

caiman A caiman (also cayman as a variant spelling) is an alligatorid belonging to the subfamily Caimaninae, one of two primary lineages within the Alligatoridae family, the other being alligators. Caimans inhabit Mexico, Central and South Ameri ...

before the hawk-eagle could carry it prey away).Robinson, S. K. (1994). ''Habitat selection and foraging ecology of raptors in Amazonian Peru''. Biotropica, 443-458. In attacking Guianan cock-of-the-rock (''Rupicola rupicola'') on their

mating lek In biology, mating is the pairing of either opposite-sex or hermaphroditic organisms for the purposes of sexual reproduction. '' Fertilization'' is the fusion of two gametes. ''Copulation'' is the union of the sex organs of two sexually r ...

, 2 of 8 attempted attacks by ornate hawk-eagles were successful (and were the only successful attacks of 56 total attempts, the other 48 by different raptor species). The hawk-eagles made bold, fast dives into the middle of the leks, quickly grabbing a male cock-of-the-rock. Subsequently, one hawk-eagle consumed the bird right on the spot in one case and the other took its catch to a nearby perch.Trail, P. W. (1987). ''Predation and antipredator behavior at Guianan cock-of-the-rock leks''. The Auk, 104(3), 496-507. Reported instances of "power dives" into troops of

monkey Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incom ...

s and even heronries are probably similar in nature to the cock-of-the-rock attacks.Hilty, Steven L. (2003): ''Birds of Venezuela''. Christopher Helm, London. In one case, an ornate hawk-eagle was able to capture a

black vulture The black vulture (''Coragyps atratus''), also known as the American black vulture, Mexican vulture, zopilote, urubu, or gallinazo, is a bird in the New World vulture family whose range extends from the northeastern United States to Peru, C ...

(''Coragyps atratus'') that had come to the carcass of a monkey that the hawk-eagle itself may have also killed.Dickey, D. R., & Van Rossem, A. J. (1938). ''The birds of El Salvador (Vol. 23)''. Field Museum of Natural History. In general, a picture has emerged that the ornate hawk-eagle is a particularly opportunistic predator, attracted to conspicuous prey behaviors and less deeply searching in its foraging than most co-existing forest eagles. In total, well over 100 prey species are known for ornate hawk-eagles.Zilio, F. (2017). ''Breeding biology and conservation of hawk-eagles (Spizaetus spp.)(Aves, Accipitridae) in southern Atlantic Forest, Brazil''. Iheringia. Série Zoologia, 107. Of particularly broad import to ornate hawk-eagles are the cracid family of gamebirds such as chachalacas, guans and curassows. In fact, local names refer to this species at times as the " guan hawk" or the " curassow hawk”.Russell, S. M. (1964). ''A distributional study of the birds of British Honduras''. Ornithological Monographs, 1. At least twelve species of cracid are taken quite often where available (including the

crested guan The crested guan (''Penelope purpurascens'') is a member of an ancient group of birds of the family Cracidae, which are related to the Australasian megapodes or mound builders (Megapodiidae). It is found in the Neotropics, in lowlands forest ...

'Penelope purpurascens'',https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/Spizaetus_ornatus%20-%20Ornate%20Hawk-eagle.pdf and this is probably only a partial list of the species they hunt.Retana, S.A.V., Araya-H.D., & García, R. (2016). ''Record of Depredation by Spizaetus ornatus on Nyctibius grandis in the Selva Biological Station, Sarapiquí, Heredia, Costa Rica''. Spizaetus, 22: 14-19.Dornas, T., & Pinheiro, R. T. (2007). ''Predação de Opisthocomus hoazin por Spizaetus ornatus e de Bubulcus ibis por Bubo virginianus em Tocantins, Brasil''. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 15(4), 601-604.Joenck, C. M., Zilio, F., & de Mendonça-Lima, A. (2011). ''First record of breeding of the Ornate Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus ornatus) in Southern Brazil''. El hornero, 26(2), 163-166. However, the ornate hawk-eagle is far from specialized on cracid prey and takes more or less any medium-sized or larger avian prey they opportune upon. In total, about 65% of recorded prey species for ornate hawk-eagles are birds. Beyond cracids, some of the most significant prey families and orders are tinamou (at least 8 species),

pigeons and doves Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

(9 species or more), toucans (at least 7 species),

parrot Parrots, also known as psittacines (), are birds of the roughly 398 species in 92 genera comprising the order Psittaciformes (), found mostly in tropical and subtropical regions. The order is subdivided into three superfamilies: the Psittaco ...

s (at least 9 species) as well as assorted non-cracid gamebirds and largish

passerine A passerine () is any bird of the order Passeriformes (; from Latin 'sparrow' and '-shaped'), which includes more than half of all bird species. Sometimes known as perching birds, passerines are distinguished from other orders of birds by th ...

s. In

Tikal Tikal () (''Tik’al'' in modern Mayan orthography) is the ruin of an ancient city, which was likely to have been called Yax Mutal, found in a rainforest in Guatemala. It is one of the largest archeological sites and urban centers of the pre-Co ...

, Guatemala, the most often identified avian prey on 10 ornate hawk-eagle territories was the

keel-billed toucan The keel-billed toucan (''Ramphastos sulfuratus''), also known as sulfur-breasted toucan or rainbow-billed toucan, is a colorful Latin American member of the toucan family. It is the national bird of Belize. The species is found in tropical jung ...

(''Ramphastos sulfuratus''), accounting for 11.3% of 408 prey items, followed by the plain chachalaca (''Ortalis vetula'') (6.5%) and great tinamou (''Tinamus major'') (4%) (in by far the largest dietary study conducted for this hawk-eagle). In total, birds were 56.3% of the foods for the species at the Tikal study. Another Guatemalan study observed 6 avian prey items and 1 mammal ( bat) as prey as a hawk-eagle nest. The next largest known study, in rainforests near Manaus,

, found among 82 prey items, birds made up 63.3% of the diet. The most often identified avian prey here were probable dusky-legged guan (''Penelope obscura'') (20.4%) and two species of large tinamous (12.24%). At a slightly smaller dietary study of the southern part of the Atlantic forest of

found that 90% of 30 prey items were birds, principally

brown tinamou The brown tinamou (''Crypturellus obsoletus'') is a brownish ground bird found in humid lowland and montane forest in tropical and subtropical South America.BirdLife International (2008) Taxonomy All tinamous are usually treated in a single fa ...

(''Crypturellus obsoletus'') (33.3%), ''Leptotila'' doves (10%), dusky-legged guan and

green-barred woodpecker The green-barred woodpecker or green-barred flicker (''Colaptes melanochloros'') is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Taxonomy and sys ...

(''Colaptes melanochloros'') (both 6.67%). Apparently, birds (including

chicken The chicken (''Gallus gallus domesticus'') is a domestication, domesticated junglefowl species, with attributes of wild species such as the grey junglefowl, grey and the Ceylon junglefowl that are originally from Southeastern Asia. Rooster ...

s (''Gallus gallus domesticus'')) were the main foods in

. In a nest in Rio Grande do Sul,

, 14 of 15 prey items were assorted birds. More secondary avian prey recorded for ornate hawk-eagles includes cuckoos, potoos, rails, trumpeters, herons and

egrets Egrets ( ) are herons, generally long-legged wading birds, that have white or buff plumage, developing fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from herons and have the same build ...

, vultures,

owls Owls are birds from the order Strigiformes (), which includes over 200 species of mostly solitary and nocturnal birds of prey typified by an upright stance, a large, broad head, binocular vision, binaural hearing, sharp talons, and feathers ...

kingfishers Kingfishers are a family, the Alcedinidae, of small to medium-sized, brightly colored birds in the order Coraciiformes. They have a cosmopolitan distribution, with most species found in the tropical regions of Africa, Asia, and Oceania ...

, motmots and

hoatzin The hoatzin ( ) or hoactzin ( ), (''Opisthocomus hoazin''), is the only species in the order Opisthocomiformes. It is a species of tropical bird found in swamps, riparian forests, and mangroves of the Amazon and the Orinoco basins in South ...

s (''Opisthocomus hoazin'').Wetmore, A., Pasquier, R. F., & Olson, S. L. (1965). ''The Birds of the Republic of Panama: Tinamidae (tinamous) to Rynchopidae (skimmers) (Vol. 1)''. Smithsonian Institution. However, at both Tikal and Manaus, the most often identified prey species types were mammals. In Tikal, the similar

Yucatan squirrel The Yucatan squirrel (, ''Sciurus yucatanensis''), originally named the Yucatan gray squirrel, also once named the Campeche squirrel, is a tree squirrel in the genus '' Sciurus'' found in the Yucatán Peninsula and adjacent areas. It is native ...

(''Sciurus yucatanensis'') and the Deppe's squirrel (''Sciurus deppei'') lead the food by number, accounting for 28.2% of the foods. In Manu, unidentified species of large terrestrial rodents, either agoutis or the similar but smaller acouchis took the primary position, making up 24.4% of the diet. At a single nest in Henri Pittier National Park,

, without presented metrics, rodents and mammals were observed to outnumber birds in the diet, namely the

red-tailed squirrel The red-tailed squirrel (''Sciurus granatensis'') is a species of tree squirrel distributed from southern Central America to northern South America. Distribution It is found in Central and South America (Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Panam ...

(''Sciurus granatensis'') and cotton rats (''Sigmodon ssp''.).Naveda-Rodríguez, A. (2004). ''Contribution to the natural history of ornate hawk-eagle Spizaetus ornatus (Daudin, 1801) and great black-hawk Buteogallus urubitinga (Gmelin, 1788)''. Revista de Ecologia Latino-America, 11, 23-26. Among mammals, these medium to fairly large

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia (), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal species are roden ...

s regardless of whether they show terrestrial ( agoutis and similar species) or arboreal ( tree squirrels) tendencies make up the largest known portion of the food, perhaps most key being partially diurnal habits. Another widely recorded mammalian prey group are procyonids despite a slight penchant for more nocturnal activity, including such prey as

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight o ...

(''Procyon lotor''), white-nosed coati (''Nasua narica''), kinkajou (''Poto flavus'') and cacomistle (''Bassariscus sumichrasti''). Usually the hawk-eagles are likely to target juveniles of the larger species of procyonid, although adults at least up to the size of kinkajous may be taken.Cima, A., Farías, G., Zapotecos, U., de Juárez, C., & de Méndez, C. (2018). ''Enhancing our knowledge on the Ornate Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus ornatus) through community-based monitoring records from Tropical Mexico''. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia, 26(3), 196-201. However, certainly the most well-studied mammalian prey for ornate hawk-eagles are New World monkeys, which they do not hunt necessarily seem to hunt preferentially. However, they are unlikely to ignore an opportunity to prey upon primates. Among monkeys, mainly those of a smaller size class are hunted, largely such groups as squirrel monkeys, tamarins, marmosets and titi monkeys are attacked. In most such monkey species, adults usually weigh less than , and juveniles may be slightly more regularly taken even for species this small.Bidner, L. R. (2014). ''Primates on the menu: Direct and indirect effects of predation on primate communities''. International Journal of Primatology, 35(6), 1164–1177.Rylands, A. B. (Ed.). (1993). ''Marmosets and tamarins: systematics, behaviour, and ecology''. Oxford University Press.Boinski, S., Kauffman, L., Westoll, A., Stickler, C. M., Cropp, S., & Ehmke, E. (2003). ''Are vigilance, risk from avian predators and group size consequences of habitat structure? A comparison of three species of squirrel monkey (Saimiri oerstedii, S. boliviensis, and S. sciureus)''. Behaviour, 140, 1421–1467. Larger primates, i.e. averaging over , are on occasion vulnerable to predation by ornate hawk-eagles including white-faced sakis (''Pithecia pithecia''), Guatemalan black howler (''Alouatta pigra'') (certainly only juveniles of this very large howler monkey) and some species of capuchin monkey.Treves, A., Drescher, A., & Ingrisano, N. (2001). ''Vigilance and aggregation in black howler monkeys (Alouatta pigra)''. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 50(1), 90-95. Due to the range of predators that they attract given their relatively smaller size, monkeys in the neotropics are highly wary and have well-developed anti-predator defenses, especially a variety of alarm calls, grouping techniques, great arboreal agility and aggressive defensive attacks by top males, all of which make monkeys more difficult to attack than more solitary, terrestrial and/or slower-moving mammal prey of similar size. Relatively few mammalian prey are taken outside of rodents, procyonids and monkeys, but ornate hawk-eagles are also known to take Jamaican fruit bats (''Artibeus jamaicensis''), other leaf-nosed bats, a few species of

opossum Opossums () are members of the marsupial order Didelphimorphia () endemic to the Americas. The largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, it comprises 93 species in 18 genera. Opossums originated in South America and entered Nort ...

, silky anteaters (''Cyclopes didactylus'') and even apparently bush dogs (''Speothos venaticus''). One reported instance of scavenging on carrion has been reported for this hawk-eagle, on the carcass of a

domestic cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, cloven-hooved, herbivores. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus ''Bos''. Adult females are referred to as cows and adult mal ...

(''Bos primigenius taurus''). Apart from mammals and birds, only rarely does the ornate hawk-eagle seem to hunt reptiles (i.e.

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia al ...

s and unidentified

snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...

s). While in many dietary studies no reptiles were known to be taken, in the Manaus area of Brazil reptiles made up nearly 4.1% of the diet. The size of prey taken can be quite variable for ornate hawk-eagles. In one estimate, most prey (specifically avian types) was estimated to weigh between . In the large study of

, Guatemala, the size of prey items was estimated to weigh from for the Jamaican fruit bat to for the

great curassow The great curassow (''Crax rubra'') is a large, pheasant-like bird from the Neotropical rainforests, its range extending from eastern Mexico, through Central America to western Colombia and northwestern Ecuador. Male birds are black with curly cr ...

(''Crax rubra''). Another prey item taken of similar size to the fruit bat is the Mexican mouse opossum (''Marmosa mexicana'') and these two species are the smallest known mammalian prey for ornate hawk-eagle. The smallest avian prey recorded thus far is the

long-tailed silky-flycatcher The long-tailed silky-flycatcher (''Ptiliogonys caudatus'') is a passerine bird which occurs only in the mountains of Costa Rica and western Panama, usually from 1,850 m altitude to the timberline. It is a thrush-sized species weighing abou ...

(''Ptilogonys caudatus''). Otherwise, passerine prey taken are slightly larger, usually various jays and

icterid Icterids () or New World blackbirds make up a family, the Icteridae (), of small to medium-sized, often colorful, New World passerine birds. Most species have black as a predominant plumage color, often enlivened by yellow, orange, or red. The ...

s, resulting in persistent

mobbing Mobbing, as a sociological term, means bullying of an individual by a group, in any context, such as a family, peer group, school, workplace, neighborhood, community, or online. When it occurs as physical and emotional abuse in the workplace, ...

of hawk-eagles by species such as

brown jay The brown jay (''Psilorhinus morio'') is a large American jay which has the habitus of a magpie, but is slightly smaller and with a shorter tail, though the bill is larger. It occurs from Mexico south into Central America on the Gulf slope. The ...

s (''Psilorhinus morio'') (this loud mobbing of the hawk-eagles in Central America in turn allows researchers to more easily find the raptors). Despite the ornate hawk-eagles' notable predatory power and ability to take large prey, mean prey sizes taken in a couple of estimates are not exceptional relative to their own body mass, though are perhaps slightly higher than those for most similarly sized raptors.Marti, C. D., Korpimäki, E., & Jaksić, F. M. (1993). ''Trophic structure of raptor communities: a three-continent comparison and synthesis''. In Current ornithology (pp. 47-137). Springer, Boston, MA. In the Tikal study, mean prey size was estimated at , with avian prey averaging an estimated and mammal prey (which consisted largely of squirrels) averaging an estimated . In the smaller dietary study from the Atlantic forests of Brazil, estimated mean prey size was . Thus mean prey sizes from the two studies averages at about 34-42% of the hawk-eagle's own body size. Within their enclosed forest habitats, ornate hawk-eagle are capable of attacking much of the largest avian prey available, excepting larger birds of prey (the largest regional water birds such as storks rarely enter deep forest habitat). This species is capable of tackling healthy prey weighing up to at least four times its own weight. These include the aforementioned great curassow and the ocellated turkey (''Meleagris ocellata''), of which the ornate hawk-eagle is capable of taking adults weighing or more. Mammalian prey taken can reach an estimated in the case of a Central American agouti (''Dasyprocta punctata''). Other mammalian prey including the largest procyonids and monkeys hunted by the hawk-eagle can reach similar body masses, i.e. approximately and perhaps even up to around . Of a similar size range to these largest birds and mammals, numerous successful attacks have reported on adults of the green iguana (''Iguana iguana''), which weigh an average of about . When capturing such large prey, ornate hawk-eagles are incapable of flying with them. In the case of agoutis and curassows killed in

, the hawk-eagles would return repeatedly to feed on their kill, ultimately consuming about half of the bodies before

decomposition Decomposition or rot is the process by which dead organic substances are broken down into simpler organic or inorganic matter such as carbon dioxide, water, simple sugars and mineral salts. The process is a part of the nutrient cycle and is ...

sets in. A male ornate hawk-eagle that had killed a great tinamou of roughly equal weight to itself (both around ) was similarly grounded after being unable to fly with its kill (only consuming the head before being flushed by researchers).

Interspecies relations

The ornate hawk-eagle overlaps in distribution with many raptors, including other powerful eagles. Furthermore, there appears to be considerable habitat selection overlap between these species, including both black-and-white hawk-eagle and black hawk-eagle, although the latter is somewhat more adaptable to openings and forest fragmentation. Furthermore, the larger species such as the crested and harpy eagle are largely concurrent in distribution and habitat with the ornate hawk-eagle. While interspecies relations of neotropical eagles are relatively poorly known, it is likely that there is some degree of natural partitioning to allow the raptors to co-exist. To the best knowledge of ornithologists and other researchers, the most likely form of partitioning comes in the form of the dietary preferences. While the three lowland hawk-eagles select broadly similar prey species across their prey spectrum, each focuses primarily on a different prey group. While the largest dietary study from

, Guatemala showed that ornate hawk-eagle somewhat prefers relatively larger class birds, such as cracids. tinamous and toucans, alternately with smallish, primarily diurnal mammals, adjacent studies in Tikal of the black hawk-eagles shows they primarily hunted small, nocturnal mammals such as bats and

mouse opossum The 27 species in the genus ''Marmosa'' are relatively small Neotropical members of the family Didelphidae. This genus is one of three that are known as mouse opossums. The others are ''Thylamys'' (the "fat-tailed mouse opossums") and '' Tlacuat ...

s. Other (but not all) studies also indicate a preference for mammals of varying sizes (perhaps to the size of

s) in the diet of black hawk-eagles. Meanwhile, black-and-white hawk-eagles have been indicated to show a preference for slightly smaller birds than those selected by ornate hawk-eagles, such as medium-to-large passerines,

pigeon Columbidae () is a bird family consisting of doves and pigeons. It is the only family in the order Columbiformes. These are stout-bodied birds with short necks and short slender bills that in some species feature fleshy ceres. They primarily ...

s and smallish toucans (such as aracaris and toucanets), though capable of preying on adult ducks and even monkeys quite as large as those taken by the ornate. The most similar hawk-eagle by diet is the closely related black-and-chestnut eagle, as this often hunts gamebirds such as cracids and procyonids like the ornate, but this species has a different altitudinal range being found in forests in the high montane forests, usually at a minimum elevation of . Other eagle-like forest raptors such as

solitary eagle The solitary eagle or montane solitary eagle (''Buteogallus solitarius'') is a large Neotropical eagle. It is also known as the black solitary eagle. Range and habitat The solitary eagle is native to Mexico and Central and South America. It i ...

s (''Buteogallus solitarius''), whose mountainous range (similar to the black-and-chestnut) barely abuts the altitudinal range with ornate hawk-eagle, have strongly different dietary preferences (i.e.

s) while other '' Buteogallus'' species tend to be much more aquatically based both in diet and habitat preferences. Overlap in the prey spectrum is known with both crested and harpy eagles, but dietary preferences differ considerably. In the harpy eagle, preferred prey are sloths (which have never been known to fall prey to ornate hawk-eagles) and larger sized New World monkeys. Meanwhile, the crested eagle seems to prefer intermediately sized mammals, including monkeys mostly between tamarin and capuchin monkey-sized, but to also seemingly take prey of more varied classes than other lowland forest eagles. In

, like the black hawk-eagle, the crested eagle appears to prefer nocturnal mammals, mostly various

s, and presumably has a more intensive searching method of hunting rather than the opportunistic hunting typical of the ornate species. In terms of predation on monkeys, a guild of avian predators and a corresponding forest wild cat appear rather neatly partitioned by the size of monkeys being hunted: '' Spizaetus'' eagles as well as other relatively small but powerful raptors and margays (''Leopardus wiedii'') select the smaller size monkey species, crested eagles and ocelots (''Leopardus pardalis'') mainly hunt the medium-sized monkeys and harpy eagles and jaguars focus most exclusively on larger sized monkeys. The various forest eagles of the neotropics appear to be surprisingly tolerant of other species, with almost no aggressive interspecies interactions known in the literature. Mostly only vultures seem to provoke a slight aggressive reaction from the parents in nesting ornate hawk-eagles (possibly because some studies indicate that forest-foraging vultures are more commonly egg thieves than those found in more open habitats). Although, in one Guatemalan study the presence of flying black hawk-eagles and swallow-tailed kites (''Elanoides forficatus'') (which are unlikely to prey on nests) also provoked a defensive whistle by the brooding female ornate hawk-eagle. Indicating a lack of interspecies aggression, one active harpy eagle nest was set with a camera trap captured photographs of a pair of ornate hawk-eagles in a breeding display in the immediate vicinity of the nest, with both species apparently indifferent to each other's presence.

Breeding

Ornate hawk-eagles, like most but not all raptors, live solitarily or in pairs. Breeding territories are maintained through high circling, either by a solo adult or by a pair. Most displays occur in mid to late morning and are usually at fairly low heights with occasional calling. Sometimes one bird breaks into

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises ...

-like flight with shallow flutters during display. Other noisy acrobatics are engaged by the male while the female perches, some of which are correlated with courtship. In a mutual display, the pair gliding in tight circles, the male approaching the female from above and behind, as the female rolls to her back and they engage in talon grabbing, occasionally touching. The aerial display of the ornate hawk-eagle can escalate into roller coaster sky-dance involving series of dives at about 45 degrees on half-closed wings interspersed with heavy looking climbs and floppy beats with looping gyrations and occasionally a complete loop. Home range size is variable in different seasons, from and estimated density can vary from one 1 bird per to 13 birds per in parts of Guatemala and

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

, respectively. In

, Guatemala, adult birds of both sexes used an average of , occasionally ranging up to at least . Here the mean nearest nest distance was estimated at .Julio, A., Madrid, M., Héctor, D., Sixto, H., Funes, A., Lopez, J., Botzoc, G.R. & Ramos, A. (1991). ''Reproductive biology and behavior of the Ornate Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus ornatus) in Tikal National Park''. Maya Project: use of raptors and other fauna as environmental indices for design and management of protected areas for building local capacity for conservation in Latin America, progress report IV. The Peregrine Fund Inc., Boise, ID USA, 93-13. In the much sparser population of the Atlantic Forest of

, it was estimated that there was one pair per each . In the Petén area of Guatemala there is an estimated nesting density of one pair per .Bierregaard, R. O. (1994). ''Ornate Hawk-Eagle. Spizaetus ornatus''. Page 205 in J. del Hoyo, A. Elliot, and J. Sargatal (editors), Handbook of the birds of the world. Volume 2, New World vultures to Guineafowl. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. The Tikal studies shows evidence of pairs shifting their territorial boundaries, in some cases this has been apparently and surprisingly due to the intrusion of another ornate hawk-eagle. Per the study: "Perhaps in these formidably armed bird predators, territory occupants sometimes readjust their patterns of spatial use rather risk outright aggressive contest". Ornate hawk-eagles can typically only breed every other year, unless a prior year's nesting attempt fails. Breeding cycles are known to be more prolonged in tropic raptors than in those that dwell in temperate zones. Also tropical species usually have smaller brood sizes. The dichotomy in breeding habits is often most extreme in forest-dwelling tropical raptor species, which in large species tend to have an extremely prolonged post-fledging care stage for young raptors.Blake, E. R. (1977). ''Manual of Neotropical birds (Vol. 1)''. University of Chicago Press. The breeding season of ornate hawk-eagles normally falls between December and September in

, while it is largely in August–January in

. Courtship and nesting behavior were seen in

during August to October (later in the year than nearby black hawk-eagles, implying a temporal difference in nesting times for the two species).Canuto, M. (2008). ''Observations of two hawk-eagle species in a humid lowland tropical forest reserve in central Panama''. Journal of Raptor Research, 42(4), 287-293. In

, nest building is around November while in

was reportedly in March. This species seemingly lays its clutches in the

dry season The dry season is a yearly period of low rainfall, especially in the tropics. The weather in the tropics is dominated by the tropical rain belt, which moves from the northern to the southern tropics and back over the course of the year. The ...

and fledges in the early

wet season The wet season (sometimes called the Rainy season) is the time of year when most of a region's average annual rainfall occurs. It is the time of year where the majority of a country's or region's annual precipitation occurs. Generally, the se ...

. In

, Guatemala, the mean egg laying time was mid-March, while in

it was similar but slightly earlier in March. In the extensive studies from

, eggs were laid variously anytime from November to May, but 83% were between January and April. Meanwhile, in the Manaus area of

egg laying peaks in August, although copulation has been witnessed as long before than as in June, which may imply a particularly prolonged courtship stage. Copulation typically lasts for 6–12 seconds with 60 copulations recorded in 204 hours of observation.

Nests

This species builds a bulky, large stick nest that is generally typical of an accipitrid. Nests are exclusively located in trees. The nest height is often above the ground. Two nests in Guatemala were about both in trees of a total height of around while, in

, the nest height of 3 were from in trees of a total height of . In

, 14 nests were found to be at anywhere from above the ground with an average of and an average total nesting tree height of . Nest heights in the Atlantic Forest,

were between . Tree species are often variable, the most significant factor in the seeming selection of nesting trees is that it is often the tallest tree in the forest stand, emerging above the average canopy height. In

, 6 nests were in Honduran mahogany (''Swietenia macrophylla''), 4 were in kapok or ceiba trees (''Ceiba pentandra''), two in invasive black olive (''Olea europaea'') and single nests in various genera such as '' Ficus'', ''

Piscidia ''Piscidia'' is a genus of flowering plants in subfamily Faboideae of the legume family, Fabaceae. The generic name is derived from the Latin words ''piscis'', meaning "fish," and ''caedo'', meaning "to kill." It refers to the use of extracts fr ...

'', '' Cedrela'', '' Pouteria'' and '' Calophyllum''. Further studies show that ceiba trees are popular elsewhere in the northern part of the range. Nests are placed in relatively exposed branches, often being on the main crutch of the tree or the largest, most bare branch (in comparison, black hawk-eagle nests are more difficult to find since they are typically inside the denser foliage of the canopy). Typical sized nests are about across and about deep. 16 nests in

averaged in diameter and in outer depth. In the Manaus area of Brazil, a single nest was a relatively large in diameter. In Henri Pittier National Park,

one nest was observed to be diameter by deep. One record sized nest in terms of depth apparently reached deep and included sticks of up to diameter.

Eggs

Ornate hawk-eagles typically lay only a single egg. All nests of the species in the wild are known to contain only a single egg. Single egg clutches are also laid by other '' Spizaetus'' hawk-eagles.Kiff, L. F., & Cunningham, M. (1980). ''The egg of the Ornate Hawk Eagle (Spizaetus ornatus)''. Journal of Raptor Research, 14, 51. However, in captivity, at least one female has been known to lay a two egg clutch. The eggs are mainly white in color sparingly overlaid with brownish or brown-red splotches. In texture, the eggs are not glossy and are somewhat pitted to the touch. In

, the eggs averaged (in a sample of four) and weighed typically about . The two egg clutch recorded in captivity differed in many respects from those of wild Guatemalan hawk-eagles. They were smaller, the first measuring and weighing , the second measuring and weighing . Additionally, instead of being whitish with faint brown or reddish spotting, they were unspotted and bluish-white in color.

Parental behavior

Prior to egg-laying, the female may remain in the area of the nest 97.2% of the time while the male was in the vicinity only 30.4% of the time in

. Both prior to egg laying and during incubation, the female of the pair often collects green leaves to line the nest bowl, doing so nearly every day both in Guatemala and the Manaus area of

. The female takes a lion's share of the incubation duties. For example, records from Guatemala and Belize show she incubates about 95-97% of observed hours. In 127 hours in Guatemala, she left her egg unattended only for a period of 9 minutes. Incubation lasted for 43 to 48 days in

while in

incubation was for 44 to 46 days. As in most accipitrids, males usually capture prey and bring it to the female throughout incubation. When delivering prey, the male and female may call back and forth for several minutes before exchanging the prey item. Furthermore, in Guatemala, the male would relieve the female for any amount of time from 9 minutes to 68 minutes while the female fed, in Brazil he never approached the nest but in one case attempted to and was aggressively displaced by his larger mate. Prey deliveries are done foot-to-foot, and in

the females would immediately behead each mammal or remove the beak from each bird prey item brought to her. During both incubation and subsequent to hatching, both parents may defend their offspring from potential predators, but especially the female. Vultures seem to provoke an aggressive response in different parts of the range, consisting of the female raising her crest, mantling over her egg and calling loudly. Egg-eating mammals seem to provoke a more active anti-predator defense. In

red-faced spider monkey The red-faced spider monkey (''Ateles paniscus'') also known as the Guiana spider monkey or red-faced black spider monkey, is a species of spider monkey found in the rain forests in northern South America. The species faces issues with hunting a ...

s (''Ateles paniscus'') were seen to be attacked and swooped upon by the female, but in a second encounter during which the monkey troop returned, she remained on the nest. Similar anti-predator behavior was observed in Guatemala, where Geoffroy's spider monkeys (''Ateles geoffroyi'') were flown at and struck until they left the vicinity. In another Guatemalan encounter, a tayra (''Eira barbara''), a large arboreal mustelid, was observed to be scaling a nest tree and was knocked out of the tree by the female hawk-eagle twice, fleeing after the second time this occurred. Studies from Guatemala show that humans also draw the ire of the female ornate hawk-eagle. It was found that while climbing to a tree blind near the nest tree that females regularly struck researchers, often causing lacerations even with protective gear on, and were rated as considerably more aggressive in nest defense than black hawk-eagles and crested eagles. In

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, a researcher was struck instead by the male of an ornate hawk-eagle pair. In the Manaus, perhaps because of a larger regional human population causing more shyness or desensitization to human activities, female ornate hawk-eagles were less aggressive to humans in the nest vicinity and did not respond even to workers using

chainsaw A chainsaw (or chain saw) is a portable gasoline-, electric-, or battery-powered saw that cuts with a set of teeth attached to a rotating chain driven along a guide bar. It is used in activities such as tree felling, limbing, Log bucking, bucki ...

s within of the nest.

Nesting development

Parque Estadual do Turvo Anderson Cristiano Hendgen (02)

The hatching date in this species is, of course, dependent on when the eggs are laid. Studies from the

area showed 90% of hatching occurred between February and June, peaking between late April and early May. It is likely that the hatching period here is timed with the peak time for fledging of other bird species for easy prey capture. Hatching was observed at a single nest in

in March. In Manaus,

, hatching occurred in September. In

, the hatchling eagle was found to measure in length and weigh . The studies from

and Manaus describe details of the nestling development over time. Like most birds, and especially birds of prey, the hatchlings are initially altricial. In this species, the eaglets are still unable to lift their heads at 2–4 days old. By about two weeks of age, the young eaglet can start to stand on its folded leg within the nest. The begging calls will increase at about 3 weeks of age. A case in Guatemala of a 16-day-old nestling trying to feed itself and defecate over the nest edge is considered rather early for both behaviors. At 36 days, the young hawk-eagle may begin to peck at carcasses but at 49 days cannot still effectively fed itself, with the first food tearing and eating recorded at between 52 and 54 days of age. At 39 days, the feathers of the wing and the tail begin to overtake the down. By the 8th week, the eaglet should be able to stand, wing flap and play with sticks within the nest. A week later, the young tend to be markedly more independent, largely feeding themselves on the carcasses their parents provide and ranging out of the nest for the first time on branches up to from their nest, often flapping their wings a considerable amount. Fledging may occur at any age from 60 to 93 days. The average age at fledgling was estimated as 77.5 days in

while in

it was similarly in the range of 70 to 84 days. At 12 weeks, the full juvenile plumage is attained. Despite the full plumage and powers of flight, the juvenile hawk-eagles continue to linger in the vicinity of the nest, typically venturing no further than from the nest for months. The young eagles often continue to beg loudly for food, especially once their parents are in view, but if their crop is full they often retire to quietly sit in dense foliage. In one case from Brazil, the juvenile eagle was observed to fly up to greet one of its parents and grabbed the prey item without landing before continuing to a nearby perch. In Guatemala, 3 young males were still in away from the nest at 5 months of age. In the same area, 2 females of 9 months age were typically away from the nest while another two young females of the same age were at an average distance from the nest of . At 11–12 months, the juveniles may begin to soar around their parents' territory. 3 females in Tikal gradually increase their wanderings at 12–14 months old, ranging anywhere from to from the nest. Around a year of age, the juvenile eagles are likely to make their first attempts to hunt prey. The minimum age at which independence appears to be possible for ornate hawk-eagles is around 11.5–12 months. The average age of independence in studies from

was found to 15.4 months of age for 13 banded juveniles. More poorly known is the age of maturity, which has been estimated at only two years, a matter of months after independence and when the hawk-eagles appear to enter their subadult plumage stage. There is little inconvertible evidence that the species begins breeding at any younger than three years of age. At least one case in

was observed of a pair both in subadult plumage that was breeding, however. While breeding success rates are not known for this species this same subadult breeding pair was observed to kill and

cannibalize Cannibalism is the act of consuming another individual of the same species as food. Cannibalism is a common ecological interaction in the animal kingdom and has been recorded in more than 1,500 species. Human cannibalism is well documented, b ...

a juvenile from another territory. When a nest was in imminent risk of flooding from the overflow of a nearby reservoir in southern Brazil, a pair of ornate hawk-eagles appeared to accept

translocation Translocation may refer to: * Chromosomal translocation, a chromosome abnormality caused by rearrangement of parts ** Robertsonian translocation, a chromosomal rearrangement in pairs 13, 14, 15, 21, and 22 ** Nonreciprocal translocation, transfer ...

when researchers relocated an entire nest intact with nestling in tow to nearby tree, at away. In interspecies comparisons, Tikal studies showed that black hawk-eagles are independent slightly faster at around 12 months old but, like the ornate, also reach maturity roughly in the zone of 2 to 3 years of age while crested eagles take 22.7–30 months until independence and start breeding somewhere around 3 to 4 years of age.Greeney, H. F., Gelis, R. A., & White, R. (2004). ''Notes on breeding birds from an Ecuadorian lowland forest''. BULLETIN-BRITISH ORNITHOLOGISTS CLUB, 124(1), 28-37. In many of the larger eagles, including the harpy eagle, whether tropical or temperate zone dwelling, the minimum age of maturity seems to be around 5 years of age and in some large Afro-tropical species, possibly ranges up to more than 7 years of age.Steyn, P. (1983). ''Birds of prey of southern Africa: Their identification and life histories''. Croom Helm, Beckenham (UK). 1983.

Status

Histoire naturelle des oiseaux d'Afrique (8597075147)

The ornate hawk-eagle is, like many large birds of prey, probably naturally scarce. However, the species has shown a marked declining trend. Therefore, in 2012, the species was uplisted to Near Threatened. Currently the total population is estimated at between 13,300 and 33,300 individuals, a very small population considering the species' ample range. Various means of analysis in the Atlantic Forest of

all showed it to be least densely populated of the three species of '' Spizaetus'' in the area. In particular, when compared to the black hawk-eagle, the ornate hawk-eagle is much less tolerant of partial deforestation and human disturbance and is generally rather more scarce. For example, in the fragmented forest of

Paranapiacaba Paranapiacaba is a district of the municipality of Santo André in the Brazilian state of São Paulo. It is located approximately by road southeast of the centre of the city of São Paulo, and about east of Rio Grande da Serra. The word ''p ...

, the black hawk-eagle was recorded 2.5 times more frequently during surveys than the ornate species. The species is locally extinct in several former parts of the range. It is thought to have gone extinct early due to increased extensive 19th century colonization in Tumbes, Peru as well as the

Belém Belém (; Portuguese for Bethlehem; initially called Nossa Senhora de Belém do Grão-Pará, in English Our Lady of Bethlehem of Great Pará) often called Belém of Pará, is a Brazilian city, capital and largest city of the state of Pará in ...

and probably the São Francisco regions of

. More recently, the continued presence of breeding ornate hawk-eagles was considered doubtful or at critical threat level in western

and local biologists considered the species to be extirpated from Colima,

. Evidence indicates declines are likely occurring in almost every part of the species' distribution. Biologists working in Southeastern Brazil felt that the species, though still present, should be uplisted to regionally critically endangered. Increases or apparent breeding records of the species in new areas are likely not correlated to actual population increases but are more likely cases of the species being driven from adjacent areas as habitats become unacceptable, accounting for increased records of the species at drier forests (i.e. in

) or in higher elevations (i.e. in Colombia). What were considered possible range expansions in different areas of

, such as the

Caatinga Caatinga (, ) is a type of semi-arid tropical vegetation, and an ecoregion characterized by this vegetation in interior northeastern Brazil. The name "Caatinga" is a Tupi word meaning "white forest" or "white vegetation" (''caa'' = forest, v ...

(

Serra das Confusões National Park The Serra das Confusões National Park ( pt, Parque Nacional da Serra das Confusões) is a national park in the state of Piauí, Brazil. Geography The Serra das Confusões National Park is in the municipalities of Alvorada do Gurguéia, Brejo ...

) and Rio Grande do Sul, as well as in northwestern

, may be more likely mere cases of more extensive bird surveying in previously little studied areas. The ornate hawk eagle has a status of rare but persisting on Panamanian islands, Coiba and Barro Colorado Island. The leading cause, by far, for the species decline is epidemic levels of

. The terribly extensive deforestation of several areas of the neotropics, particularly the Amazon rainforest, was the catalyst for the species being uplisted in 2012. Declines are correlated to deforestation in most parts of the species' range, all the way from the northern limits in

down to the southern limits in

. Even where lands become protected, it is in many cases too late due to forest fragmentation prior to conservation, resulting in stands too fragmented to support extensive use by the ornate hawk-eagles. Canopy coverage of the forest must be at least 80% in order to retain this hawk-eagle, per a study of its habitat ranging in Los Tuxtlas Biosphere Reserve,

. Beyond deforestation,

human hunting Human hunting refers to humans being hunted and killed for other persons' revenge, pleasure, entertainment, sports, or sustenance. Historically, incidents of the practice have occurred during times of social upheaval. Historical examples * In ...

is also causing declines of this species. In part this is due to competition for resources. For example, studies in

, Guatemala showed that 49.4% of the biomass at ornate hawk-eagle nests was overlapping with the wild animals most extensively hunted by local humans (i.e. cracids, agoutis, squirrels). Also, where domestic

s are found, they are opportunistically hunted by ornate hawk-eagle. Due to the causes of wild prey competition and predation of domestic fowl, humans frequently target and shot this and other eagles on sight, even without direct provocation. Little overarching conservation efforts are known to have been implemented specifically pertaining to this species' declines, beyond the general retention and conservation of existing forests.Thiollay, J. M. (1989). ''Area requirements for the conservation of rain forest raptors and game birds in French Guiana''. Conservation Biology, 3(2), 128-137.