CreatureData

Gray hawk

Buteo plagiatus (Schlegel, 1862)

LCLeast Concernbirds of prey

The gray hawk (Buteo plagiatus) is a species in the family Accipitridae, order Accipitriformes. Recorded adults weigh 429.8 g to 624 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Gray hawk (Buteo plagiatus)
Photo: The Lilac Breasted Roller from Sullivan's Island, United States · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the gray hawk

Weight
429.8 g – 624 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Carnivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
32 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
2src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
23.9 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the gray hawk live?

Not recorded

What is the gray hawk?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The gray hawk (Buteo plagiatus) or Mexican goshawk is a smallish raptor found in open country and forest edges. It is sometimes placed in the genus Asturina as Asturina plagiata. The species was split by the American Ornithological Society (AOU) from the gray-lined hawk. The gray hawk is found from Costa Rica north into the southwestern United States.

The gray hawk is 46–61 cm (18–24 in) in length and weighs 475 g (16.8 oz) on average. The adult has a pale gray body, the tail is black with three white bands and the legs are orange. It is a solid, unpatterned gray on the upper parts.

Immature birds have dark brown upperparts, a pale-banded brown tail, brown-spotted white underparts and a brown streaked buff head and neck. This species is quite short-winged, and has a fast agile flight for a Buteo. The call is a shrill whistled kleee-ooo.

The gray hawk feeds mainly on lizards and snakes, but will also take small mammals, birds and frogs. It usually sits on an open high perch from which it swoops on its prey, but will also hunt from a low glide. The nest is of sticks and built high in a tree. The usual clutch is one to three, usually two white to pale blue eggs. The young take about 6 weeks to fledging.

From the Wikipedia article “Gray hawk” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gray_hawk&oldid=1381101915), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the gray hawk endangered?

The gray hawk is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the gray hawk classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderAccipitriformes
  5. familyAccipitridae
  6. genusButeo
  7. SpeciesButeo plagiatus (Schlegel, 1862)

Synonyms Asturina nitida maxima, Asturina nitida plagiata, Asturina plagiata, Asturina plagiata micrus, Asturina plagiata plagiata, Buteo nitidus maximus, Buteo nitidus plagiatus, Buteo plagiatus plagiatus, Leucopternis plagiatus

Other names and names in other languages (30)
  • Grey hawkEnglish
  • Grey hawkEnglish
  • Mexican goshawkEnglish
  • aligot gris septentrionalCatalan
  • káně popelaváCzech
  • HøgevågeDanish
  • GraubussardGerman
  • griza buteoEsperanto
  • Aguililla grisSpanish
  • Busardo gris norteñoSpanish
  • Gavilán grisSpanish
  • mehhiko hallviuEstonian
  • tummaraitahaukkaFinnish
  • Buse griseFrench
  • meksički škanjacCroatian
  • Poiana grigiaItalian
  • ミナミハイイロノスリJapanese
  • Meksikinis pilkasis suopisLithuanian
  • Grijze BuizerdDutch
  • nordgråvåkNorwegian
  • myszołowik popielatyPolish
  • bútio-cinzentoPortuguese
  • Gavião-cinzentoPortuguese
  • Серый канюкRussian
  • myšiak popolavýSlovak
  • Severni sivi mišarSerbian
  • gråvråkSwedish
  • Gri ŞahinTurkish
  • канюк мексиканськийUkrainian
  • 灰鵟Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the gray hawk

Other species in the same genus Buteo.

CompareGray hawk vs Common buzzardGray hawk vs Rough-legged buzzardGray hawk vs Long-legged buzzardGray hawk vs Red-tailed hawk

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the gray hawk?

An adult gray hawk weighs 429.8 g – 624 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the gray hawk endangered?

The gray hawk is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the gray hawk?

The gray hawk (Buteo plagiatus) belongs to the family Accipitridae in the order Accipitriformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Gray hawk (Buteo plagiatus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/gray-hawk

MLA

“Gray hawk (Buteo plagiatus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/gray-hawk.

BibTeX
@misc{gray_hawk_2026,
  title = {Gray hawk (Buteo plagiatus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/gray-hawk},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}