The Story
I photographed this Roadside Hawk (Rupornis magnirostris) at the Hotel Campestre Resguardos de Paz, near El Paujil, Caquetá, Colombia, in February 2020. It ranges from Mexico through Central America to most of South America east of the Andes. It adapts to almost every habitat in its range except perhaps dense rainforest, and it is a common hawk in towns and cities. Adults have whitish or yellow eyes, and its call is a high, piercing squeak. It can turn aggressive when nesting and has even been recorded attacking people who pass near the nest.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400. Most of El Paujil’s people are settlers, or the children of settlers, who came mainly from Huila and Tolima.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Roadside Hawk (Rupornis magnirostris) 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 increasing. Source: IUCN Red List