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Leucopternis semiplumbeus
The Semiplumbeous Hawk (Leucopternis semiplumbeus) is a species of bird of prey in the Accipitridae family. It is found in Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Honduras, and Panama. The semiplumbeous hawk is easily identifiable due to its striking orange cere and black face mask. The semiplumbeous hawk is a small bird, averaging about 12-13 inches in length (approximately the size of a kestrel or merlin). Rarely seen in flight, these hawks typically perch silently on a high branch, waiting for prey. The semiplumbeous hawk often follows swarms of army ants in order to capture antbirds, which, along with other small songbirds, make up a large portion of its diet.
Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. This one was seen in La Selva Biological Station, Costa Rica.
The overall population of semiplumbeous hawks is small - estimated at 1,000 to 10,000 mature birds - and declining.
Well Gorden, it's the right size and it has the orange cere and black face mask, and red feet! It could be. I'll wait and see if anyone else comes up with anything.
Thanks...
I'm not familiar with hawks in this area, but am wondering if this is a Semiplumbeous Hawk (Leucopternis semiplumbeus)? See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiplumbeo... for more information. I'll be curious as to what you come up with!
Spotted on Jul 20, 2013
Submitted on Sep 20, 2013
