Abstract
The Roadside Hawk is a common bird of prey in Central and South America. Its general diet is relatively well known, but little is known about its diet and feeding behavior in urban areas. In this work, I describe the feeding routine, vocalizations, preys, and general behavior of a couple Roadside Hawks in El Valle, an urban area of Caracas, Venezuela, between March and May 2017. During eight weeks, 25 records were obtained. In most records, the Roadside Hawk was seen perched with a prey in its talons. At same time, it uttered a vocal sound. After 1–6 minutes, another Roadside Hawk individual, larger, took the prey and consumed it. Consumed items included rodents (probably Rattus norvergicus among them), reptiles (probably Cnemidophorus lemniscatus among them), and birds. In natural areas similar items have been recorded, but unlike them, I report an important proportion of rodents (40%). Several behavioral variables lead me to conclude that the events observed correspond to a Roadside Hawk male carrying preys to a female during the beginning of the breeding season. This note represents the fi rst description of the Roadside Hawk’s feeding behavior during breeding season in an urban area of Venezuela, an important contribution to the knowledge of the Roadside Hawk’s natural history.
Creative Commons License
Recommended Citation
Blanco-Pérez, Eliana
(2018)
"Notas sobre comportamiento asociado a la alimentación de una pareja reproductora del Gavilán Habado Rupornis magnirostris en un área urbana de Caracas, Venezuela / Notes About the Feeding Behavior in a Reproductive Couple of the Roadside Hawk Rupornis magnirostris Observed in an Urban Area of Caracas, Venezuela,"
Revista Venezolana de Ornitología: Vol. 8
:
Iss.
1
, Article 12.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/rvo/vol8/iss1/12