Ridgway's hawk (Buteo ridgwayi) (Spanish: gavilán de la Española, gavilán dominicano, guaraguaito ) is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae endemic to the island of Hispaniola (both Haiti and the Dominican Republic) in the Caribbean. It is classified as Critically Endangered because of habitat destruction and human persecution in the Dominican Republic; however, due to conservation efforts, the population is now increasing.
It is named in honour of the ornithologist Robert Ridgway.
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TerrestrialTerrestrial animals are animals that live predominantly or entirely on land (e.g., cats, ants, snails), as compared with aquatic animals, which liv...
Oviparous animals are female animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive...
Altricial animals are those species whose newly hatched or born young are relatively immobile. They lack hair or down, are not able to obtain food ...
Soaring birds can maintain flight without wing flapping, using rising air currents. Many gliding birds are able to "lock" their extended wings by m...
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Not a migrantAnimals that do not make seasonal movements and stay in their native home ranges all year round are called not migrants or residents.
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starts withB. ridgwayi is a medium-sized, compact hawk, measuring 36–41 cm long. The adult has brown-grey upperparts and greyish barred underparts, with a reddish-brown wash, rufous-tinged thighs, and a black-and-white barred tail. The male is greyer than the female, and the legs and the base of bill are yellow.
The Ridgway's hawk's original breeding range included all of the island of Hispaniola and some of the adjacent isles and keys, such as Gonâve Island, Île-à-Vache, Tortuga, Beata Island, and Alto Velo Island. However, it has since been extirpated from a large area of the Dominican Republic and almost all of Haiti, due to extensive deforestation and loss of habitat there. It was thought to be completely extirpated from all of Haiti; however, recent expeditions to the islands of Les Cayemites discovered a breeding population there. In the Dominican Republic, the only known surviving populations outside of reintroductions is in and around Los Haitises National Park, and a relict population in the Samaná Peninsula.
This bird is described as critically endangered, due to clearance of its forest habitat and persecution by local farmers, who claim that the species preys upon their domestic fowl. Conservationists have countered that poultry is nothing more than a minor element of their diet, and that the Ridgway's hawk has a highly varied prey base, with reptiles comprising up to 90% of its diet. Electrocution from power poles and nestling parasitism by Philornis pici flies are also reasons for population decline. Reintroductions in the Ecological Center of the Puntacana Resort and Club in La Altagracia Province have proven successful; 25 individuals were also released in Aniana Vargas National Park in Sánchez Ramírez Province, with more releases planned. It is proposed that a "Ridgway's Hawk Day" should become a national holiday in the Dominican Republic, in order for the species to become more publicly known and protected.