Woodward's eagle (''Buteogallus woodwardi'') is an extinct species of black hawk that lived in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

and the

Caribbean The Caribbean ( , ; ; ; ) is a region in the middle of the Americas centered around the Caribbean Sea in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, mostly overlapping with the West Indies. Bordered by North America to the north, Central America ...

during the

Late Pleistocene The Late Pleistocene is an unofficial Age (geology), age in the international geologic timescale in chronostratigraphy, also known as the Upper Pleistocene from a Stratigraphy, stratigraphic perspective. It is intended to be the fourth division ...

. Remains have been found in the

La Brea Tar Pits La Brea Tar Pits comprise an active Paleontological site, paleontological research site in urban Los Angeles. Hancock Park was formed around a group of tar pits where natural Bitumen, asphalt (also called asphaltum, bitumen, or pitch; ''brea'' ...

in the United States and in Cuba. Despite the common name, the species is technically a gigantic variety of hawk as it is a member of the still extant black hawk genus, Buteogallus, within the

Buteoninae The Buteoninae are a subfamily of birds of prey which consists of medium to large, broad-winged species. They have large, powerful, hooked beaks for tearing flesh from their prey, strong legs, and powerful talons. They also have extremely keen ...

subfamily that are chiefly referred to as hawks, and not the Aquilinae subfamily most eagles belong to.

Description and ecology

It is one of the largest birds of prey ever found, with an estimated total length , slightly larger than the

Harpy eagle The harpy eagle (''Harpia harpyja'') is a large Neotropical realm, neotropical species of eagle. It is also called the American harpy eagle to distinguish it from the Papuan eagle, which is sometimes known as the New Guinea Harpy Eagle, New Guin ...

Haast's eagle Haast's eagle (''Hieraaetus moorei'') is an Extinction, extinct species of eagle that lived in the South Island of New Zealand, commonly accepted to be the of Māori mythology.

reached bigger lengths and appears to have been also more robust than Woodward's - Haast's was a forest-dwelling species. Woodward's eagle appears to have hunted in open habitats, taking primarily small mammals and reptiles. It has been suggested that ''Buteogallus woodwardi'' might be particularly similar to, and was once considered to be of the same genus as species in the formerly valid solitary eagle genus, Harpyhaliaetus. The reorganization of both animals into the Buteogallus genus has furthered the comparison. Several species of extant solitary eagles sport broad wings, short but wide tails, and dark coloration across the body with noticeable crests above the occipitals which ''Buteogallus woodwardi'' might have also had. The diet of modern solitary eagles has also suggested to be broadly similar, if on a smaller scale compared to their extinct relative, with reptiles and small mammals making up a large component of food resources. Scaled up to the size of ''Buteogallus woodwardi'', and it is likely the giant black hawk was hunting similar prey in open habitats up to the size of small deer.

References

Pleistocene birds of North America Pleistocene birds Birds of prey Accipitridae Fossil taxa described in 1911 Eagles {{Accipitriformes-stub