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  Profile

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  In flight

Birds of Prey

Black Hawk-Eagle

Spizaetus tyrannus

• epic
• 60 km/h
• Least Concern

Soars over Amazonian canopy on broad black wings, then vanishes into the interior. Near-silent hunter.

Population

Fewer than 50,000 mature individuals (2008 estimate, suspected declining)

Habitat

Humid lowland and mid-elevation tropical forest, forest edge, and second-growth woodland, often near rivers (lowlands up to ~2,000-3,000 m)

Fun fact

Named the tyrant hawk-eagle for its bold predation on monkeys and large birds, it typically raises just one chick and, like other Neotropical forest eagles, often nests only once every two or three years because of the long juvenile dependency period.

Range

Southern/central Mexico through Central America and much of South America (Colombia, Venezuela, Trinidad, the Guianas, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay), also west of the Andes in western Ecuador/NW Peru, to northeastern Argentina

Diet

Carnivorous — large birds (toucans, chachalacas, macaws), arboreal mammals (monkeys, squirrels, opossums, bats), and reptiles (lizards, snakes)

Size

0.66 m

Wingspan

1.4 m

Lifespan

20 years