Wildlife: Crane Hawks Are Raptors That Can Extract Prey From Trees Royalty-Free Stock Photo

A crane hawk is seen perched on a tree, in Uaxactun, Peten, Guatemala. The crane hawk Geranospiza caerulescens is a species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. Crane hawks occur in tropical lowlands at the edge of forests and are almost always closely associated with water. It is found in Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guyana, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad, Uruguay, and Venezuela. They are an irruptive and local migrant, probably moving in response to changing water conditions. These hawks often forage by scanning from a perch or on the wing and swooping down to grab prey. However, they are notable for having “double-jointed”Â tarsal bones, allowing them to reach into tree cavities and extract prey, a trait they share only with the genus of African harrier-hawks Polyboroids. Their main prey are small vertebrates, especially rodents, bats, lizards, snakes, and small birds, but they have also been known to eat larger insects and other arthropods and snails. Nowhere is the crane hawk particularly common, but it is still widely distributed. However, it is considered threatened in Mexico, endangered in El Salvador, and at low risk in Argentina.