The Story
I photographed this juvenile Great Black Hawk (Buteogallus urubitinga) at Zacambu Lodge on the Yavarí, in Loreto, Peru. The Great Black Hawk is a resident breeding bird from Mexico through Central America to Peru, Tobago and northern Argentina. Its call is a distinctive piping whistle. Along Amazon rivers it has been seen raiding Hoatzin colonies for eggs and chicks. The Yavarí is a clear-water tributary of the Amazon, about 1,050 km long, that forms the border between Brazil and Peru along its whole course. IUCN lists the Great Black Hawk as Least Concern, with a decreasing population.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200. Trips from Leticia to Zacambu include walks in the flooded forest and a visit to a village where monkeys are being released.
©2021 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Great Black Hawk (Buteogallus urubitinga) belongs to the family Accipitridae (Hawks, Eagles, and Kites) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2020), with the population trend listed as decreasing. Source: IUCN Red List