Slate-colored Hawk

Slate-colored Hawk

Leucopternis schistaceus

Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve

In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%

112 Verified sightings at Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve From 2019 to 2026
1,098 In all 6 parks
June Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Slate-colored Hawk

The slate-colored hawk (Buteogallus schistaceus) is a species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae: the hawks, eagles, and allies. It is found in the Amazon rainforest in Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, and French Guiana.

It is a medium-sized to large bird, typically about 40 cm (16 in) long. It is medium slate-grey in color, with contrasting bright white horizontal banding on its tail feathers. It has a medium-white breast with vertical black markings. It has a large orange cere at the base of its beak, and large yellow eyes.

The slate-colored hawk inhabits most of the Amazon rainforest, primarily in várzea and especially in areas near water like rivers, swamps or mangrove. It hunts for frogs, snakes, small mammals, crabs and other small animals, often at the water edges.

"Slate-colored hawk" videos on the Internet Bird Collection Slate-colored Hawk photo gallery Archived 2011-06-14 at the Wayback Machine on VIREO Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call1:29

Ecuador · 2021

© Manuel Sánchez-Nivicela · XC1136697 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Song1:00

Brazil · 2015

© GABRIEL LEITE · XC284928 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Call0:04

Brazil · 2024

© JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA · XC939982 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~20%
2 Yasuní National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
~10%
3 Amacayacu National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
~10%
4 Anavilhanas National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
~10%
5 Tambopata National Reserve 🇵🇪 Peru
~10%
6 Manu National Park 🇵🇪 Peru
<5%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Slate-colored Hawk in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Slate-colored Hawk sighting in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve on a given day, based on 112 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 77th most-seen of the 328 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Slate-colored Hawk in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve?

February, June and October–November

In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Slate-colored Hawk in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve on a given day, against about 10% in May, July–August and December–January, the lowest months.

What time of day is best to see a Slate-colored Hawk?

Between 7 and 10 am

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Slate-colored 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.

Is Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve the best place to see a Slate-colored Hawk?

Yes

Of the 6 parks where we can rate Slate-colored Hawk sightings, Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Yasuní National Park (Ecuador, about 10%) and Amacayacu National Natural Park (Colombia, about 10%).

Where does the Slate-colored Hawk sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Slate-colored Hawk is recorded against all the birds logged in Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve (112 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.

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