Buteo nitidus
Silhouette: Lauren Anderson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The gray-lined hawk (Buteo nitidus) is a smallish raptor found in open country and forest edges. It is sometimes placed in the genus Asturina as Asturina nitida. The species has been split by the American Ornithological Society from the gray hawk. The gray-lined hawk is found from El Salvador to Argentina, as well as on the Caribbean island of Trinidad.
The gray-lined hawk is 46–61 cm (18–24 in) in length and weighs 475 g (16.8 oz) average. The adult has a pale gray body, the tail is black with three white bands and the legs are orange. It has fine white barring on the upper parts.
Immature birds have dark brown upperparts, a pale-banded brown tail, brown-spotted white underparts and a brown streaked buff head and neck. This species is quite short-winged, and has a fast agile flight for a Buteo. It feeds mainly on lizards and snakes, but will also take insects (such as beetles and grasshoppers), small mammals (such as rabbits, squirrels and mice), birds (such as quails and nestling doves), frogs, toads, other amphibians and fish. It usually sits on an open high perch from which it swoops on its prey, but will also hunt from a low glide.
The... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Salvador | 🇸🇻 El Salvador | |
| 2 | Monterrey | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 3 | San Pedro Sula | 🇭🇳 Honduras | |
| 4 | Manaus | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 5 | San José | 🇨🇷 Costa Rica | |
| 6 | Belém | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 7 | Torreón | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 8 | Valencia | 🇻🇪 Venezuela | |
| 9 | Guadalajara | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 10 | Panama City | 🇵🇦 Panama |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parque Municipal Summit | 🇵🇦 Panama | |
| 2 | Zoológico de Goiânia | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 3 | Zoológico de Canindé | 🇧🇷 Brazil | |
| 4 | Zoológico Miguél Álvarez del Toro | 🇲🇽 Mexico |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Gray-lined Hawk sighting in Biotopo Cerro Cahuí on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 145th most-seen of the 191 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September
In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Gray-lined Hawk in Biotopo Cerro Cahuí on a given day, against under 5% in March–August and October–January, the lowest months. That is one of Biotopo Cerro Cahuí's wettest months, with about 210 mm of rain against 25 mm in March.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Gray-lined Hawk sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
38th of 60
Of the 60 parks where we can rate Gray-lined Hawk sightings, Biotopo Cerro Cahuí ranks 38th at under 5%. The best odds are in Tenorio Volcano National Park (Costa Rica, about 30%), El Triunfo (Mexico, about 20%) and Pico Bonito National Park (Honduras, about 20%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Gray-lined Hawk is recorded against all the birds logged in Biotopo Cerro Cahuí (13 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
