Editing Harris's hawk

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Harris's hawk
| image = Harris's Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus) 3 of 4 in set.jpg
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Parabuteo unicinctus'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T22695838A93529685 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22695838A93529685.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Parabuteo
| species = unicinctus
| subdivision_ranks = Subspecies
| subdivision = ''P. u. harrisi''<br />''P. u. unicinctus''
| authority = ([[Coenraad Jacob Temminck|Temminck]], 1824)
| synonyms = ''Falco harrisii'' <small>Audubon 1839</small><br />
''Buteo harrisii'' <small>Bonaparte 1839</small>, <small>Audubon 1840</small> <br />
''Craxirex harrisii'' <small>Coues 1870</small> <br />
''Falco unicinctus'' <small>Temminck 1824</small><br />
''Morphnus unicinctus'' <small>Lesson 1828</small><br />
''Nisus unicinctus'' <small>Cuvier 1829</small><br />
''Buteo unicinctus'' <small>Gray 1844</small><br />
''Hypomorphnus unicinctus'' <small>Cab. & Tschudi 1844</small><br />
''Spizageranus unicinctus'' <small>Kaup 1845</small><br />
''Craxirex unicinctus'' <small>Bonaparte 1854</small><br />
''Asturina unicincta'' <small>Burm. 1855</small><br />
''Urubitinga unicincta'' <small>Sclater 1871</small><br />
''Buteo unicinctus harrisii'' <small>Coues 1872</small><br /> 
''Erythrocnema unicinctus'' <small>Sharpe 1874</small><br /> 
''Polyborus tænurius'' <small>Tschudi 1844</small>
| synonyms_ref = <ref name="Sharpe1874" />
| range_map = Parabuteo unicinctus range map.png
| range_map_caption = Distribution map of ''Parabuteo unicinctus''
}}

'''Harris's hawk''' ('''''Parabuteo unicinctus'''''), formerly also known as '''bay-winged hawk''' or '''dusky hawk''', and known in Latin America as the '''peuco''', is a medium-large [[bird of prey]] that breeds from the [[southwestern United States]] south to [[Chile]], central [[Argentina]], and [[Brazil]].

The name is derived from the [[Greek language|Greek]] ''para'', meaning beside, near or like, and the [[Latin]] ''buteo'', referring to a kind of buzzard; ''uni'' meaning once; and ''cinctus'' meaning girdled, referring to the white band at the tip of the tail.<ref>{{cite book |last=Jobling |first=James A. |title=A Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names |year=1991 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-854634-4}}</ref> [[John James Audubon]] gave this bird its English name in honor of his ornithological companion, financial supporter, and friend [[Edward Harris (ornithologist)|Edward Harris]].<ref>{{cite web |author=National Audubon Society |url=http://www.audubon.org/bird/BoA/F2_G2a.html |title=Audubon |publisher=Audubon |access-date=2013-04-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080409153815/http://www.audubon.org/bird/boa/F2_G2a.html |archive-date=2008-04-09 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Harris's hawk is notable for its behavior of hunting cooperatively in [[Pack hunter|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.<ref name=beebe>Beebe, Frank (1984). ''A Falconry Manual.'' Hancock House Publishers, {{ISBN|0-88839-978-2}}, page 81.</ref>

==Description==
[[File:Gavilán mixto en barrio Savoia, City Bell, La Plata, Argentina IMG 6649.jpg|thumb|left|Juvenile, at La Plata, Argentina]]
This medium-large [[hawk]] is roughly intermediate in size between a [[peregrine falcon]] (''Falco peregrinus'') and a [[red-tailed hawk]] (''Buteo jamaicensis''). Harris's hawks range in length from {{convert|46|to|59|cm|in|abbr=on}} and generally have a wingspan of about {{convert|103|to|120|cm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Mikos>{{cite book |last=Udvardy |first=Miklos D. F. |title=National Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Birds 'Western Region' |year=2001 |publisher=Knopf Doubleday Publishing |isbn=978-0-679-42851-0}}</ref><ref>Clark, W. S. and B. K. Wheeler (1987). ''A Field Guide to Hawks of North America''. Houghton Mifflin Co. Boston.</ref> These hawks have a brownish plumage, reddish shoulders, and tail feathers with a white base and white tip.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Harris's Hawk - Appearance |journal=Birds of the World |year=2015 |doi=10.2173/bow.hrshaw.01 |s2cid=216204185 |url=https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/hrshaw/introduction |url-access=subscription |access-date=October 22, 2018 |last1=Dwyer |first1=James F. |last2=Bednarz |first2=James C. }}</ref>

They exhibit [[sexual dimorphism]] with the females being larger by about 35%. In the United States, the average weight for adult males is about {{convert|701|g|lb|abbr=on}}, with a range of {{convert|546|to|850|g|lb|abbr=on}}, while the adult female average is {{convert|1029|g|lb|abbr=on}}, with a range of {{convert|766|to|1633|g|lb|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite book |last=Dunning |first=John B. Jr. |title=CRC Handbook of Avian Masses |year=1993 |publisher=CRC Press |isbn=978-0-8493-4258-5}}</ref><ref name= Hamerstrom>Hamerstrom, F. (1978). "External sex characters of Harris' Hawks in winter". ''Raptor Res.'' 12:1–14.</ref> They have dark brown [[plumage]] with chestnut shoulders, wing linings, and thighs,<ref>{{cite book |author=National Geographic Society |title=Birds of North America |year=1983 |publisher=National Geographic Society |isbn=978-0-87044-472-2}}</ref> white on the base and tip of the tail,<ref name="Sibley">{{cite book |last=Sibley |first=David Allen |title=National Audubon Society: The Sibley Guide to Birds |year=2000 |publisher=Knopf |isbn=978-0-679-45122-8 |url=https://archive.org/details/sibleyguidetobir00sibl_0 }}</ref> long, yellow legs, and a yellow [[beak|cere]].<ref name=rappole>{{cite book |last=Rappole |first=John H. |title=Birds of the Southwest |year=2000 |publisher=Texas A&M University Press |isbn=978-0-89096-958-8}}</ref> The vocalizations of Harris's hawk are very harsh sounds.<ref name= Mikos/>

The lifespan of Harris's hawk is 10–12 years in the wild, though up to 25 years has been recorded in captivity.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.oregonzoo.org/discover/animals/harris-hawk |publisher=Oregon Zoo |access-date=22 November 2021 |title=Harris hawk |archive-date=21 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220621084032/https://www.oregonzoo.org/discover/animals/harris-hawk |url-status=dead }}</ref>

===Juvenile===
The juvenile Harris's hawk is heavily streaked with white or [[Buff (colour)|buff]] on the underparts, and appears much lighter than the solidly dark-breasted dark adults. When in flight, the undersides of the juveniles' wings are buff-colored with brown streaking, and the primary feathers are whitish except at their tips, giving a pale panel on the outer wing; the tail band is also paler than on adults. They can look very unlike adults at first glance, but the identical chestnut [[plumage]] is an aid for identification.<ref name="Sibley"/><ref name=rappole/>
[[File:Parabuteo unicinctus unicinctus (recorte).jpg|thumb|Adult of ''P. u. unicinctus'' in Argentina.]]

==Taxonomy==
[[Robert Ridgway]] placed Harris's hawk in its own new subgenus ''Urubitinga (Antenor)'' in 1873,<ref name="Ridgway1873">{{cite journal |last1=Ridgway |first1=Robert |author1-link=Robert Ridgway |title=Catalogue of the ornithological collection of the Boston Society of Natural History. Part II. Falconidae |journal=Proceedings of the Boston Society of Natural History (Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist.) |date=1873 |volume=16 |pages=43–72 |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/130707#page/55/mode/1up |quote=Intermediate between Buteo and Urubitinga, … Type ''Falco unicincta'' Temm.}} ''Antenor'' Ridgeway ''Nov. subgen.'' is on [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/130707#page/75/mode/1up page 63].</ref> and introduced the generic name ''Parabuteo''<ref name="BBR1874">{{cite book |last1=Baird |first1=Spencer Fullerton |last2=Brewer |first2=T. M. |last3=Ridgway |first3=Robert |title=A history of North American birds. Land birds. Vol. 3 |date=1874 |publisher=Little, Brown |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/bibliography/7493 |pages=248–252 |quote= … a new generic name should be instituted for the present species, since it so well merits separation to that rank.}} On [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/31756#page/265/mode/1up page 248], the heading is "Genus ''Antenor'' Ridgway", but the subspecies heading is "''Parabuteo unicinctus'' var. ''harisii'' (Ridgway)".</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=IRMNG - Parabuteo Baird, Brewer & Ridgway, 1874 |url=https://www.irmng.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=1432867 |website=www.irmng.org |access-date=30 October 2023}}</ref> in 1874. [[Richard Bowdler Sharpe]] also separated Harris's hawk to a [[monotypic]] genus, ''Erythrocnema'', in 1874. In his ''Catalogue of Birds in the British Museum'', Sharpe gives an extensive synonymy, with various authors having earlier placed ''P. u. harrisi'' in three genera and ''P. u. unicinctus'' in eleven.<ref name="Sharpe1874">{{cite book |last1=Sharpe |first1=R. Bowdler |title=Catalogue of the Birds in the British Museum: Volume 1, Catalogue of the Accipitres or diurnal birds of prey in the collection of the British Museum |date=1874 |location=London |pages=84–86 |chapter=Genus 20. Erythrocnema |chapter-url= https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/34315#page/102/mode/1up}}</ref>

===Subspecies===
There are two subspecies of Harris's hawk:<ref name="IOC">{{cite web | title=Hoatzin, New World vultures, Secretarybird, raptors – IOC World Bird List | website=IOC World Bird List – Version 14.2 | date=2025-02-20 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/bow/raptors/ | access-date=2025-04-01}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable "
|-
! Image !! Subspecies !! Description and notes !!Distribution
|-
|[[File:Harris' Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus) (10684271643).jpg|120px]]||''P. u. harrisi'' ||[[Synonym (biology)|Syn.]] ''P. u. superior''.||Southwestern [[United States]], [[Mexico]], much of [[Central America]], and western [[South America]] south to western [[Peru]]. <ref name=IOC/>
|-
|[[File:Parabuteo unicinctus, Buenos Aires, Argentina 213415907.jpg|120px]]||''P.&nbsp;u.&nbsp;unicinctus'' ||Smaller than the northern subspecies, tail and wings are proportionally longer, and the adult's dark brown ventrum is streaked or flecked with white or whitish.<ref>Blake, Ferguson-Lees and Christie cited in ''Birds of the world "Parabuteo unicinctrus"''  https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/hrshaw/cur/systematics#subsp</ref>|| Eastern and southern [[South America]]. 
|-
|}
A third subspecies ''P. u. superior'' sometimes accepted in the past in the northwest of the species' range (Arizona to Baja California) was believed to have longer tails and wings and to be more blackish than ''P. u. harrisi''; however, the sample size of the original study was quite small, with only five males and six females. Later research concluded that there is not as strong a physical difference as was originally assumed.<ref name=Bednarz>{{cite conference |last=Bednarz |first=J. C. |title=Harris' hawk subspecies: is ''superior'' larger or different than ''harrisi''? |pages=294–300 |year=1988 |book-title=in ''Proceedings of the southwest raptor management symposium and workshop'' |place= Washington, D.C.}}</ref> Other ecological differences, and evidence of a [[Cline (biology)|latitudinal cline]], were also brought up as arguments against the validity of the subspecies segmentation.<ref name=cornell>{{cite web |last=Bednarz |first=James C. |title=Harris's Hawk (''Parabuteo unicinctus'') |year=1995 |url=http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/146}}</ref>

==Distribution and habitat==
Harris's hawks live in sparse [[woodland]] and [[semi-arid climate|semi-desert]], as well as [[marsh]]es (with some trees) in some parts of their [[range (biology)|range]] (Howell and Webb 1995), including [[mangrove]] swamps, as in parts of their South American range.<ref>{{in lang|es}} Olmos Fábio & Robson Silva e Silva (2003). ''Guará-Ambiente, Flora e Fauna dos Manguezais de Santos-Cubatão'' ''Empresa das Artes'', {{ISBN|85-89138-06-2}}</ref> Harris's hawks are permanent residents and do not [[bird migration|migrate]].<ref name=cornell/> Important perches and nest supports are provided by scattered larger trees or other features (e.g., [[utility pole]]s, [[woodland]] edges, standing dead trees, live trees, boulders, and [[saguaro]]s).<ref>Bednarz, J. C. and J. D. Ligon. (1988). A study of the ecological bases of cooperative breeding in the Harris' hawk. ''Ecology'' 69:1176–1187.</ref>

The wild Harris's hawk population is declining due to [[habitat destruction|habitat loss]]; however, under some circumstances, they have been known to move into developed areas.<ref>{{cite web |last=Discoll |first=James T. |title=Harris' Hawk |access-date=2007-11-19 |url=http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/nongame_harris_hawk.shtml |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071123013816/http://www.azgfd.gov/w_c/nongame_harris_hawk.shtml |archive-date=2007-11-23 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

==Behavior==
[[File:Parabuteo unicinctus calling.webm|left|thumb|Calling atop a [[Saguaro]], Mesa, Arizona]]
This species occurs in relatively stable groups. A dominance hierarchy occurs in Harris's hawks, wherein the mature female is the dominant bird, followed by the adult male and then the young of previous years. Groups typically include from two to seven birds. Not only do birds cooperate in hunting, but they also assist in the nesting process.<ref>Dawson, J. W. and R. W. Mannan. (1991). The role of territoriality in the social organization of Harris' hawks. ''Auk'' 108:661–672.</ref> No other bird of prey is known to hunt in groups as routinely as this species.<ref>Griffin, C. R. (1976). A preliminary comparison of Texas and Arizona Harris' Hawks (''Parabuteo unicinctus'') populations. ''Raptor Res.'' 10:50–54.</ref>

===Breeding===
They nest in small trees, shrubby growth, or cacti. The [[bird nest|nests]] are often compact, made of sticks, plant roots, and stems and are often lined with leaves, [[moss]], bark, and plant roots. They are built mainly by the female. There are usually two to four white to blueish-white [[bird egg|eggs]] sometimes with a speckling of pale [[brown]] or gray. The nestlings start light buff, but in five to six days turn a rich brown.<ref name=baicich1997>{{cite book |last1=Baicich |first1=Paul J. |last2=Harrison |first2=Colin J. O. |title=Nests, Eggs, and Nestlings of North American Birds |year=1997 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-12295-3}}</ref>

Very often, there will be three hawks attending one nest: two males and one female.<ref name=Kenn>{{cite book |last=Kaufmann |first=Kenn |title=Lives of North American Birds |year=1996 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company |isbn=978-0-395-77017-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/livesofnorthamer00kauf }}</ref> Whether or not this is [[Polyandry in animals|polyandry]] is debated, as it may be confused with backstanding (one bird standing on another's back).<ref>{{cite book |last=Ligon |first=J. David |title=The Evolution of Avian Breeding Systems |volume=10 |series=Oxford Ornithology Series |year=1999 |isbn=978-0198549130 |publisher=Oxford University Press |url=http://ukcatalogue.oup.com/product/9780198549130.do |access-date=4 August 2013}}</ref> The female does most of the [[egg incubation|incubation]]. The eggs hatch in 31 to 36 days. The young begin to explore outside the nest at 38 days, and [[fledge]], or start to fly, at 45 to 50 days. The female sometimes breeds two or three times in a year.<ref name=baicich1997/> Young may stay with their parents for up to three years, helping to raise later broods. Nests are known to be predated by [[coyote]]s (''Canis latrans''), [[golden eagle]]s (''Aquila chrysaetos''), [[red-tailed hawk]]s (''Buteo jamaicensis''), [[great horned owl]]s (''Bubo virginianus''), and flocks of [[common raven]]s (''Corvus corax''), predators possibly too formidable to be fully displaced by Harris's hawk's cooperative nest defenses. No accounts show predation on adults in the United States and Harris's hawk may be considered an [[apex predator]], although presumably predators like eagles and great horned owls would be capable of killing them.<ref>Dawson, J. W. and R. W. Mannan. (1991). ''Dominance hierarchies and helper contributions in Harris' Hawks''. ''Auk'' 108:649–660.</ref> In [[Chile]], [[black-chested buzzard-eagle]]s (''Geranoaetus melanoleucus'') are likely predators.<ref>Jiménez, J. E., & Jaksić, F. M. (1989). Behavioral ecology of grey eagle-buzzards, Geranoaetus melanoleucus, in central Chile. ''Condor'' 913–921.</ref>

===Feeding===
The majority of Harris's hawks' prey are mammals, including [[ground squirrels]], [[rabbit]]s, and larger [[black-tailed jackrabbit]]s (''Lepus californicus'').<ref name="HBW">{{cite book | last=Hoyo | first=Josep del | last2=Elliott | first2=Andrew | last3=Sargatal | first3=Jordi | title=Handbook of the Birds of the World: New world vultures to guineafowl | publisher=Lynx edicions | publication-place=Barcelona | date=1992 | isbn=84-87334-15-6 | page=}}</ref> [[Bird]]s from the size of small passerines such as [[diuca finch]] (''Diuca diuca'') to adult [[great egret]] (''Ardea alba'') and half-grown [[wild turkey]] (''Meleagris gallopavo'') can be taken.<ref name =raptor>Ferguson-Lees, James, and David A. Christie. Raptors of the world. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2001.</ref><ref>Santander, Francisco J., et al. "Prey of the Harris' Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus) during fall and winter in a coastal area of central Chile". ''The Southwestern Naturalist'' (2011): 417-422.</ref><ref>Houcke, H.H. (1971). Predation By a White-tailed Hawk and a Harris' Hawk on a Wild Turkey Poult. ''Condor'' 4: 475.</ref> In one instance, a lone Harris's hawk successfully killed a subadult [[great blue heron]] (''Ardea herodias'').<ref>Woodward, H.D. (2003). Lone Harris' Hawk Kills Great Blue Heron. The Raptor Research Foundation 1:85–86.</ref> Reptiles such as [[lizard]]s and [[snake]]s are additionally taken as well as large [[insect]]s.<ref name="HBW"/><ref name =raptor/>

When [[Pack hunter|hunting in groups]], Harris's hawk can take large prey effectively, such as [[desert cottontail]] (''Sylvilagus auduboni''), the leading prey species in the north of Harris's hawk's range, usually weighs {{convert|800|g|lb|abbr=on}} or less.<ref>Bednarz, J. C. (1988). A comparative study of the breeding ecology of Harris's and Swainson's hawks in southeastern New Mexico. ''Condor'' 90:311–323.</ref><ref>Bednarz, J. C., J. W. Dawson, and W. H. Whaley. (1988). Harris' Hawk. Pages 71–82 in Proceedings of the southwest raptor management symposium and workshop. (Glinski, R. L., B. G. Pendleton, M. B. Moss, M. N. LeFranc, Jr., B. A. Millsap, and S. W. Hoffman, Eds.) Natl. Wildl. Fed. Washington, D.C.</ref> Even adult [[black-tailed jackrabbits]] weighing more than {{convert|2000|g|lb|abbr=on}} can be successfully taken by a pack of Harris's hawks.<ref name=Kenn/><ref>Coulson, Jennifer O., and Thomas D. Coulson. "Reexamining cooperative hunting in Harris's Hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus): large prey or challenging habitats?." The Auk 130.3 (2013): 548-552.</ref>

Because it often pursues large prey, this hawk has larger and stronger feet, with long talons, and a larger, more prominent hooked beak, than most other raptors of similar size.<ref name= Hamerstrom/> Locally, other larger buteonine hawks, including the [[ferruginous hawk]], the [[red-tailed hawk]], and the [[white-tailed hawk]] also hunt primarily cottontails and jackrabbits, but each is bigger, weighing about {{convert|1200|g|oz|abbr=on}}, {{convert|1100|g|oz|abbr=on}} and {{convert|850|g|oz|abbr=on}},<ref name="HBW"/> respectively, more on average than a Harris's hawk.<ref>Smith, D. G. and J. R. Murphy. (1978). Biology of the Ferruginous Hawk in central Utah. Sociobiology 3:79–98.</ref><ref>Thurow, T. L., C. M. White, R. P. Howard, and J. F. Sullivan. (1980). Raptor ecology of Raft River valley, Idaho. EG&G Idaho, Inc. Idaho Falls.</ref><ref>Smith, D. G. and J. R. Murphy. (1973). Breeding ecology of raptors in the East Great Basin Desert of Utah. Brigham Young Univ. Sci. Bull., Biol. Ser. Vol. 18:1–76.</ref><ref>Farquhar, C. C. (1986). Ecology and breeding behavior of the White-tailed Hawk on the northern coastal prairies of Texas. PhD. diss. Texas A & M Univ. College Station.</ref><ref>Dunning Jr., John B. (Editor). (1992). ''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses.'' CRC Press. {{ISBN|978-0-8493-4258-5}}.</ref>

In the Southwestern United States, the most common prey species (in descending order of prevalence) are [[desert cottontail]] (''Sylvilagus auduboni''), [[eastern cottontail]] (''Sylvilagus floridanus''), [[black-tailed jackrabbit]] (''Lepus californicus''), [[ground squirrel]]s (''Ammospermophilus'' spp. and ''Spermophilus'' spp.), [[Pack rat|woodrats]] (''Neotoma'' spp.), [[kangaroo rat]]s (''Dipodomys'' spp.), [[pocket gopher]]s (''Geomys'' and ''Thomomys'' spp.), [[Gambel's quail]] (''Callipepla gambelii''), [[scaled quail]] (''C. squamata''), [[northern bobwhite]] (''Colinus virginianus''), [[cactus wren]] (''Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus''), [[northern mockingbird]] (''Mimus polyglottos''), [[Sceloporus magister|desert spiny lizards]] (''Sceloporus magister''), and [[skink]]s (''Eumeces'' spp.)<ref>Mader, W. J. (1975). Biology of the Harris' hawk in southern Arizona. Living Bird 14:59–85.</ref><ref>Brannon, J. D. (1980). ''The reproductive ecology of a Texas Harris's hawk (Parabuteo unicinctus harrisi) population''. Master's Thesis. Univ. of Texas, Austin.</ref> In the tropics, Harris's hawks have adapted to taking prey of several varieties, including those like [[chicken]]s and [[European rabbit]]s introduced by man.<ref>Nutting, C. C. (1883). On a collection of birds from the Hacienda "La Palma," Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica, with critical notes by Robert Ridgway. Proc. U.S. Natl. Mus. 1982(5):382–409.</ref><ref>Johnson, A. W. (1965). ''The birds of Chile and adjacent regions of Argentina, Bolivia, and Peru.'' Platt Establecimientos Graficos, Buenos Aires.</ref> In Chile, the [[common degu]] (''Octodon degus'') makes up 67.5% of the prey.<ref>Jaksic, F. M., J. L. Yanez, and R. P. Schlatter. (1980). Prey of the Harris' hawk in central Chile. ''Auk'' 97:196–198.</ref>

===Hunting===
While most raptors are solitary, only coming together for breeding and migration, Harris's hawks will [[Pack hunter|hunt in cooperative groups]] of two to six. This is believed to be an adaptation to the lack of prey in the desert climate in which they live. In one hunting technique, a small group flies ahead and scouts, then another group member flies ahead and scouts, and this continues until prey is bagged and shared. In another, all the hawks spread around the prey and one bird flushes it out.<ref>{{cite book|author=Cook, William E.|title=''Avian Desert Predators''|year=1997 |publisher=Springer | isbn=978-3-540-59262-4 }}{{page needed|date=April 2018}}</ref> Harris's hawks will often chase prey on foot and are quite fast on the ground; their long legs are adapted for this, whereas most other hawks do not spend as much time on the ground. Groups of Harris's hawks tend to be more successful at capturing prey than lone hawks, with groups of two to four individuals having ~10% higher success rates per extra individual.<ref>{{cite thesis |last1=Dawson |first1=James |year=1988 |title=The cooperative breeding system of the Harris' Hawk in Arizona |url=http://arizona.openrepository.com/arizona/handle/10150/276864 |type=M.S. |publisher=The University of Arizona |access-date=17 November 2017}}</ref>

==Relationship with humans==

===Falconry===
Since about 1980, Harris's hawks have been increasingly used in [[falconry]] and are now the most popular hawks in the West (outside of Asia) for that purpose, as they are one of the easiest to train and the most social.<ref name=cyber>{{cite web|url=http://users.cybercity.dk/~ccc12787/raptors/parabuteo.html |title=Raptors page |publisher=Users.cybercity.dk |access-date=2013-04-29 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130305133856/http://users.cybercity.dk/~ccc12787/raptors/parabuteo.html |archive-date=2013-03-05 }}</ref>

Trained Harris's hawks have been used to remove an unwanted [[columbidae|pigeon]] population from [[London]]'s [[Trafalgar Square]],<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://effectivebirdcontrol.co.uk/projects/trafalgar-square/ | title=Trafalgar Square |access-date=2025-03-10 |website=effectivebirdcontrol.co.uk|language=en}}</ref> and from the tennis courts at Wimbledon.<ref>{{cite news |last=Mount |first=Harry |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tennis/wimbledon-reaction/rufus-the-hawk-wimbledons-official-bird-scarer/ |title=Introducing Rufus the hawk: the official bird scarer of the Wimbledon Championships|newspaper=Daily Telegraph|date=2017-07-03 |access-date=2018-10-22}}</ref>

Trained Harris's hawks have  been used for [[Bird control|bird abatement]] by falconry experts in Canada and the United States at various locations including airports, resorts, landfill sites, and industrial sites.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mraz|first=Tiffany|title=BLOG: Phoenician resort hires hawks to keep pesky birds away from diners|url=https://www.azfamily.com/shows/arizona_highways_tv/central_arizona/scottsdale/blog-phoenician-resort-hires-hawks-to-keep-pesky-birds-away-from-diners/article_68305aac-6aec-11e9-9653-571e2b4a2250.html |access-date=2020-08-19 |website=AZFamily|language=en}}</ref>

Harris's hawks have frequently escaped from captivity in [[Western Europe]], especially [[Great Britain|Britain]]; they have occasionally bred in the wild, but have not to date become [[naturalisation (biology)|naturalized]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Eaton |first1=Mark A. |title=Non-native breeding birds in the UK, 2015–2020 |journal=British Birds |date=2023 |volume=116 |issue=9 |page=486–507 (Harris's Hawk, p.504)}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="140px">
File:Harris's hawk in flight, Southern Ontario, Canada (captive).jpg|Harris's hawk in flight at a falconry centre
File:Harris's hawk at a licensed falconry centre.jpg|Harris's hawk at a licensed falconry centre, Ontario, Canada
File:Harriss Hawk being with chick leg (7913337978).jpg|Eating a chick's leg
File:Nestlings of Harry's Hawk - Parabuteo unicinctus in Cheshire, England in 2011.jpg|Week-old chicks in captivity
</gallery>

===In art===
[[John James Audubon]] illustrated Harris's hawk in ''[[The Birds of America]]'' (published in London, 1827–38) as Plate 392 with the title "Louisiana Hawk -''Buteo harrisi''". The image was [[Engraving|engraved]] and colored by the [[Havell family|Robert Havell]], London workshops in 1837. The original [[watercolor painting|watercolor]] by Audubon was purchased by the New York History Society where it remains to this day (January 2009).<ref>{{cite web | title=Audubon's Watercolors Octavo Pl. 392, Harris' Hawk | website=Joel Oppenheimer, Inc. | url=https://www.audubonart.com/shop/product/awc-oct-frm-392-audubon-s-watercolors-octavo-pl-392-harris-hawk-17820 | ref={{sfnref | Joel Oppenheimer, Inc.}} | access-date=2019-10-29}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20050418091236/http://www.peregrinefund.org/Explore_Raptors/hawks/harrishk.html Peregrine Fund page on Harris' hawk]
* [http://www.falconeria.info/specie_harris/index_harris.htm Harris's hawks in falconry (videos, Photo album, articles)] {{In lang|it}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ai3eVjr0Pzg Harris' hawks hunting in pack] (video)

===Historical material===
* John James Audubon.  "[https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33240028 Louisiana Hawk]", ''Ornithological Biography'' volume 5 (1839).  [https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40382980 Illustration] from ''Birds of America'' octavo edition, 1840.

{{Buteoninae}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q742698}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Parabuteo]]
[[Category:Falconry]]
[[Category:Birds of Central America]]
[[Category:Birds of Mexico]]
[[Category:Birds of prey]]
[[Category:Birds of South America]]
[[Category:Native birds of the Southwestern United States]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1824]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Coenraad Jacob Temminck]]