Natural history of the Red-backed Hawk, Buteo polyosoma: a review

Abstract

In this paper I review the available literature on the natural history of the Red-backed Hawk, Buteo polyosoma. I supplement it with my own observations throughout Chile, specially my detailed studies at San Carlos de Apoquindo, 20 km E Santiago, and at Chinchilla National Reserve, at Aucó, 300 km N Santiago. I also document the diet of Red-backed hawks qualitatively in the second site. The review was covered in thirteen topics: Distribution and taxonomy; common names; color and field identification; morphometry and weight; life history and reproduction; habitat use; diet; activity, flight modes and hunting behavior; aggressions; vocalizations; abundance; mortality; and other topics. With this work, the current knowledge of the natural history of the Red-backed Hawk is updated, and made more accessible to the latin american scientific community.