Birdfinding.info ⇒ Rare in terms of numbers, but not hard to find. It is readily observed behind the Paraíso Caño Hondo ecolodge at the eastern corner of Los Haitises National Park, and in the southwestern corner of the park near the village of Los Limones. At Punta Cana, birds from the recently established transplanted population can be seen at the Punta Cana Ecological Reserve and occasionally on the grounds of nearby resorts or in the town itself.
Ridgway’s Hawk
Buteo ridgwayi
Endemic to Hispaniola, where its natural range has diminished to Los Haitises National Park and adjacent land in the eastern Dominican Republic. Within this limited area, it remains fairly common, despite being critically endangered. In 2014, the breeding population in Los Haitises was estimated at 120 pairs.
There is an ongoing effort to establish a second population through a release program in the vicinity of Punta Cana, where wild breeding was first observed in 2013. This population appears to be expanding its range across the southeastern tip of Hispaniola—north at least to Las Lagunas de Nisibón and west to Del Este National Park.
Identification
A small, clay-colored Buteo with prominent rufous or chestnut thighs. Vocal and conspicuous; often permits a close view.
Adult has a gray-to-brownish head and chest that shades to fine brown-on-white barring on belly.
Wings, back, and tail are mostly brown. Chestnut tones on the shoulders are often difficult to discern.
Ridgway’s Hawk, male. (Los Haitises National Park, Dominican Republic.) © Miguel A. Landestoy T.
The sexes differ somewhat in coloration, although there appears to be some overlap. Males are mostly pale gray on the head and chest, whereas females tend to be browner.
Ridgway’s Hawk, female. (Los Limones, Los Haitises National Park, Dominican Republic; May 19, 2013.) © Dax M. Román E.
Ridgway’s Hawk, male. (Paraíso Caño Hondo, Los Haitises National Park, Dominican Republic; March 7, 2014.) © Jim Tietz
Ridgway’s Hawk, female. (Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; March 7, 2015.) © Dax M. Román E.
Ridgway’s Hawk, female. (Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; March 7, 2015.) © Dax M. Román E.
Ridgway’s Hawk, female, eating a lizard. (Los Limones, Los Haitises National Park, Dominican Republic; June 23, 2013.) © Dax M. Román E.
Ridgway’s Hawk, female. (Los Limones, Los Haitises National Park, Dominican Republic; June 23, 2013.) © Dax M. Román E.
Ridgway’s Hawk, male. (Cap Cana, Dominican Republic; April 20, 2017.) © Scott Stafford
Ridgway’s Hawk, female. (Los Limones, Los Haitises National Park, Dominican Republic; February 4, 2007.) © Pedro Genaro Rodríguez
Ridgway’s Hawk, male. (Paraíso Caño Hondo, Los Haitises National Park, Dominican Republic; November 5, 2016.) © Patrick V.
Ridgway’s Hawk, female and chick. (Trepada Alta, Los Haitises National Park, Dominican Republic.) © Eladio M. Fernández
Ridgway’s Hawk, male. (Los Haitises National Park, Dominican Republic.) © Miguel A. Landestoy T.
Ridgway’s Hawk, male. (Los Haitises National Park, Dominican Republic; June 23, 2013.) © Dax M. Román E.
In flight, the spread wing shows white crescents in the primaries—these are more conspicuous on the upperside of the wing, but are visible from below as well.
The wing linings are uniformly gray, unlike Hispaniola’s other native Buteo, the Red-tailed Hawk.
The tail has four very narrow pale bands—these appear white or translucent when seen from below.
Ridgway’s Hawk, taking flight, showing white crescents in the primaries and rusty tones on the shoulders. (Los Limones, Los Haitises National Park, Dominican Republic; June 23, 2013.) © Dax M. Román E.
Ridgway’s Hawk, taking flight, showing white crescents in the primaries and chestnut tones on the shoulders. (Los Haitises National Park, Dominican Republic; March 18, 2012.) © Dax M. Román E.
Ridgway’s Hawk, soaring—note unmarked gray wing linings and white crescents in primaries. (Cap Cana, Dominican Republic; April 20, 2017.) © Scott Stafford
Ridgway’s Hawk, male, drying—note white crescent in primaries. (Los Limones, Los Haitises National Park, Dominican Republic; May 26, 2014.) © Paul Noakes
Ridgway’s Hawk, male, drying—note narrow white bands on tail. (Paraíso Caño Hondo, Los Haitises National Park, Dominican Republic; March 27, 2017.) © Frédéric Pelsy
Juveniles have mostly dark brown upperparts and whitish underparts that are heavily streaked with brown, densely on the chest and more diffusely on the belly.
Older immatures are paler and usually have a noticeable dark whisker mark.
Ridgway’s Hawk, juvenile with dark throat. (Los Limones, Los Haitises National Park, Dominican Republic; March 20, 2015.) © Jason Leifester
Ridgway’s Hawk, juvenile with pale throat. (Punta Cana Ecological Reserve, Dominican Republic; March 13, 2015.) © John Sullivan
Ridgway’s Hawk, immature showing dark whisker mark and absence of distinct bars on tail. (Dominican Republic; May 19, 2013.) © Dax M. Román E.
Notes
Monotypic species.
IUCN Red List Status: Critically Endangered.
References
Anderson, D.L., R. Thorstrom, C.D. Hayes, and T. Hayes. 2017. Ridgway’s Hawk (Buteo ridgwayi), version 1.0. In Neotropical Birds Online (T.S. Schulenberg, ed.). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, N.Y. https://doi.org/10.2173/nb.ridhaw1.01.
BirdLife International. 2016. Buteo ridgwayi. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22695886A93531738. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22695886A93531738.en. (Accessed August 19, 2017.)
eBird. 2018. eBird: An online database of bird distribution and abundance. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, N.Y. http://www.ebird.org. (Accessed September 26, 2018.)
Ferguson-Lees, J., and D.A. Christie. 2001. Raptors of the World. Houghton-Mifflin, Boston.
Latta, S., C. Rimmer, A. Keith, J. Wiley, H. Raffaele, K. McFarland, and E. Fernandez. 2006. Birds of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.
Raffaele, H., J. Wiley, O. Garrido, A. Keith, and J. Raffaele. 1998. A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies. Princeton University Press, Princeton, N.J.