CreatureData

Harris's hawk

Parabuteo unicinctus (Temminck, 1824)

LCLeast Concernbirds of prey

The harris's hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus) is a species in the family Accipitridae, order Accipitriformes. Recorded adults weigh 689.7 g to 1.03 kg and live up to 15 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Harris's hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus)
Photo: Alan Vernon · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the harris's hawk

Weight
689.7 g – 1.03 kgsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
1.1 msrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
15 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Carnivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
25 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
shrublandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
34.3 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
2.92src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1.5src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Perchingsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Partialsrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the harris's hawk?

HARRIS'S HAWK · WINGSPAN 1.1 MADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 1.1 m, the recorded maximum wingspan of the harris's hawk is about 65% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the harris's hawk live?

Not recorded

What is the harris's hawk?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

Parabuteo unicinctus is a medium-large bird of prey that breeds from the southwestern United States south to Chile, central Argentina, and Brazil. It contains two subspecies, the Harris's hawk (P. u. harrisi) and the bay-winged hawk (P. u. unicinctus). The species is also occasionally referred to as the dusky hawk and known in Latin America as the peuco.

Harris's hawk is notable for its behavior of hunting cooperatively in packs consisting of tolerant groups, while other raptors often hunt alone. Harris's hawks' social nature has been attributed to their intelligence, which makes them easy to train and has made them a popular bird for use in falconry.

From the Wikipedia article “Harris's hawk” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Harris%27s_hawk&oldid=1380683580), 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.

What does the harris's hawk sound like?

https://www.argentinat.org/people/abrub · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Is the harris's hawk endangered?

The harris's 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.

How is the harris's hawk classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderAccipitriformes
  5. familyAccipitridae
  6. genusParabuteo
  7. SpeciesParabuteo unicinctus (Temminck, 1824)

Synonyms Falco unicinctus, Parabuteo unicintus

Other names and names in other languages (48)
  • Bay-winged hawkEnglish
  • Harris' hawkEnglish
  • Louisiana hawkEnglish
  • باز هاريسArabic
  • buzacu de HarrisAsturian
  • Мишелов на ХарисBulgarian
  • aligot de HarrisCatalan
  • káně HarrisovaCzech
  • gwalch HarrisWelsh
  • Brunvinget vågeDanish
  • Brunskuldret VågeDanish
  • WüstenbussardGerman
  • brunŝultra buteoEsperanto
  • Busardo mixtoSpanish
  • Águila de HarrisSpanish
  • Aguililla de HarrisSpanish
  • Aguililla rojinegraSpanish
  • Busardo de HarrisSpanish
  • Gavilán acaneladoSpanish
  • Gavilán AlicastañoSpanish
  • Gavilán mixtoSpanish
  • Halcón HarrisSpanish
  • PeucoSpanish
  • rüütelviuEstonian
  • ritarihaukkaFinnish
  • Buse de HarrisFrench
  • Buse à croupion blancFrench
  • harrisov škanjacCroatian
  • Harris-ölyvHungarian
  • Poiana di HarrisItalian
  • モモアカノスリJapanese
  • Hariso suopisLithuanian
  • Herisa klijānsLatvian
  • WoestijnbuizerdDutch
  • kaktusvåkNorwegian
  • MyszołowiecPolish
  • myszołowiec towarzyskiPolish
  • bútio-de-harrisPortuguese
  • gavião-asa-de-telhaPortuguese
  • Орлиный канюкRussian
  • Пустынный канюкRussian
  • myšiak štvorfarebnýSlovak
  • Harisov jastrebSerbian
  • kaktusvråkSwedish
  • Harris ŞahiniTurkish
  • канюк пустельнийUkrainian
  • 栗翅鵟Chinese
  • 栗翅鹰Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the harris's hawk

Other species in the same genus Parabuteo.

CompareHarris's hawk vs White-rumped hawk

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the harris's hawk?

An adult harris's hawk weighs 689.7 g – 1.03 kg and has a wingspan of 1.1 m, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the harris's hawk endangered?

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

How long does the harris's hawk live?

The harris's hawk has a recorded lifespan of 15 years.

What kind of animal is the harris's hawk?

The harris's hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus) 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). Harris's hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/harris-s-hawk

MLA

“Harris's hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/harris-s-hawk.

BibTeX
@misc{harris_s_hawk_2026,
  title = {Harris's hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/harris-s-hawk},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}