About Buteogallus meridionalis (Latham, 1790)
The savanna hawk, scientifically named Buteogallus meridionalis (Latham, 1790), measures 46–61 cm (18–24 in) in length and has an average weight of 845 g (29.8 oz). Adult savanna hawks have a rufous body, with grey mottling on the upperparts and fine black barring on the underparts. The flight feathers of their long, broad wings are black, and the tail is marked with alternating black and white bands. Their legs are yellow, and their call is a loud scream described as keeeeru. Immature birds are similar in appearance to adults, but have darker, duller upperparts, paler underparts with coarser barring, and a whitish supercilium. This species perches in a very vertical posture, and has strikingly long legs. For reproduction, savanna hawks build their nests from sticks lined with grass, and place these nests in palm trees. The clutch contains only a single white egg, and young birds take between 6.5 and 7.5 weeks to fledge after hatching. The savanna hawk feeds on a wide range of items including small mammals, small birds, lizards, snakes, toads, frogs, eels, other fish, crabs, roots, spiders, and large insects such as grasshoppers. It typically hunts by sitting on an open, high perch and swooping down onto its prey, but it will also hunt on foot, and multiple savanna hawks may gather together at grass fires.
