Harris's Hawk

Parabuteo unicinctus

Hunts cooperatively in family packs like a wolfpack with wings. The only true team-player raptor.

Population: Common and widespread; secondary sources place the global population on the order of 100,000-1,000,000 mature individuals (consistent with IUCN's Least Concern assessment), though no BirdLife DataZone factsheet with an exact current figure could be directly loaded
Habitat: Sparse woodland, semi-desert, cactus/mesquite/palo verde brushland, riverside trees and marshes with scattered trees, increasingly suburban washes and open areas
Fun fact: Harris's Hawks are among the very few raptors known to hunt cooperatively in family packs of two to six birds, coordinating flushing and ambush tactics — group hunts are measurably more successful than solo hunts, with capture rates rising roughly 10% per additional bird added to groups of two to four.
Range: Southwestern United States (Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Baja California) south through Mexico and Central America to Chile, Argentina (Patagonia), and Brazil
Diet: Carnivore — small to medium mammals (rabbits, jackrabbits, ground squirrels, rats/mice), birds ranging from small passerines up to great egrets, lizards, and occasionally large insects
Size: 0.53 m
Wingspan: 1.1 m
Lifespan: 12 years

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