Buteo galapagoensis
Silhouette: Lauren Anderson · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~60% in a week ~90%
The Galápagos hawk (Buteo galapagoensis) is a large hawk endemic to most of the Galápagos Islands. The Galapágos hawk is similar in size to the red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) and the Swainson's hawk (Buteo swainsoni) of North America, but the size is variable across the islands as is recorded for many animals native to the Galapágos. They appear to be somewhat more heavily built than those well-known mainland species, and going on average weights, this species is the second heaviest Buteo in the Americas, behind only the ferruginous hawk. The Galapágos hawk can range from 45 to 58 cm (18 to 23 in) in length from beak to tail with a wingspan of 116 to 140 cm (46 to 55 in). The smallest hawk sizes recorded are on Marchena Island, where males average 844 g (1.861 lb) and females average 1,223 g (2.696 lb). Intermediate in size are the hawks of Santiago Island, on which males weigh an average of 963 g (2.123 lb) while females average 1,295 g (2.855 lb). The largest known are the hawks on Española Island, which are amongst the largest Buteo known anywhere, with males averaging 1,137 g (2.507 lb) and females averaging 1,578 g (3.479 lb). The adult hawk has various... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Galápagos Islands | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leningrad Zoo | 🇷🇺 Russia | |
| 2 | Parque Cóndor | 🇪🇨 Ecuador |
Possible
About 30% of wildlife watchers report a Galápagos Hawk sighting in Galápagos Islands on a given day, based on 3,207 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 29th most-seen of the 114 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 60%, and over a week to about 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April, June–July and September–November
In those months about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Galápagos Hawk in Galápagos Islands on a given day, against about 20% in May, August and December–March, the lowest months. Those are among Galápagos Islands's driest months, with about 10 mm of rain a month against 50 mm in March.
Between 7 and 10 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Galápagos 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.
Only Galápagos Islands, in our data
Galápagos Islands is the only park on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Galápagos Hawk sightings: about 30% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Galápagos Hawk is recorded against all the birds logged in Galápagos Islands (3,207 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.
