Long-tailed Hawk
Urotriorchis macrourus
The Long-tailed Hawk (Urotriorchis macrourus) is a rare kites, old world vultures, eagles, and hawk found in 13 countries, weighing about 492 g. The long-tailed hawk is an African bird of prey in the family Accipitridae.
About the Long-tailed Hawk
The long-tailed hawk is an African bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is the only member of the genus Urotriorchis.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
The long-tailed hawk is a distinctively shaped raptor with a very noticeable long, barred tail and is dark grey on its upperparts and chestnut on its underparts with a contrasting white throat and undertail coverts. In flight the white flight feathers on the underwing are heavily barred with dark grey. There is a rare morph which has a grey breast, with a paler grey throat but still has the white undertail coverts. The bill is black, the eyes, cere, legs and feet are yellow. Voice: It is a rather vocal bird which is often first detected by the long drawn out screech given by birds perched in the canopy.
Where it lives
When to see it
Best months: January, February, March, April, October, November, December, with peak activity in November. It is a variable species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Long-tailed Hawk?
- The long-tailed hawk is a distinctively shaped raptor with a very noticeable long, barred tail and is dark grey on its upperparts and chestnut on its underparts with a contrasting white throat and undertail coverts. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Long-tailed Hawk?
- The Long-tailed Hawk is a large sized bird weighing about 492 g.
- Where can you see a Long-tailed Hawk?
- The Long-tailed Hawk occurs in 13 countries, including Ghana, Gabon, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea and Uganda.
- What birds look similar to a Long-tailed Hawk?
- The Long-tailed Hawk is most easily confused with the Sulawesi Hawk-Eagle, the Letter-winged Kite and the White-browed Hawk.
- Is the Long-tailed Hawk endangered?
- The Long-tailed Hawk is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Long-tailed Hawk for real
BeakBrain drills you on photos and calls until you can greet this bird by name in the field. Free to play, on any device.
Play BeakBrainEvery photo and recording on this page is credited to its author under the licence shown. Spotted a problem with this page, or have a better photo? Contribute.