Abstract
In spite of its widespread distribution, little is known about the biology of the Savanna Hawk Buteogallus meridionalis. Due to its opportunistic diet, the potential prey items have not been extensively characterized. We describe here for the first time a predation event on a coral snake (Elapidae) by the Savanna Hawk and discuss its association with a significant increase in the raptor's altitudinal range. The event occurred on a cattle ranch near an old-growth mountain forest at 2,250 m asl in the Venezuelan Andean valley of the Mucujún River. An adult Savanna Hawk preyed upon an adult Red-tail Coral Snake Micrurus mipartitus, killing it in the air with its claws prior to perching and eating it. This observation, together with a few others in the Cordillera de Mérida (1,600 and 3,580 m asl) set a new altitudinal record for the Savanna Hawk. They represent the highest record in Venezuela and the world to date. It is unclear whether the presence of the Savanna Hawk in the Andean valleys implies an altitudinal range expansion related to deforestation or constitutes part of previously unknown population movements.
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Recommended Citation
Saavedra, Luis A. and Luis, Luis
(2022)
"Depredación de una Coral Montañera Micrurus mipartitus por el Gavilán Pita Venado Buteogallus meridionalis con observaciones adicionales sobre su rango altitudinal en Venezuela / Predation of a Red-Tail Coral Snake Micrurus mipartitus by the Savanna Hawk Buteogallus meridionalis with New Altitudinal Records in Venezuela,"
Revista Venezolana de Ornitología: Vol. 12
:
Iss.
1
, Article 6.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/rvo/vol12/iss1/6