Photo caption: This Zone-tailed Hawk is a Turkey Vulture look-alike, from a distance.
by Bob Walker
From mid-March through mid-October we grow accustomed to seeing Turkey Vultures soaring in the skies above Los Alamos County. Zone-tailed Hawks (Buteo albonotatus) are a reason to look a little closer at those Turkey Vultures. The Zone-tailed Hawk can sometimes be seen flying among a flock of Turkey Vultures, mimicking their V-shaped wing pattern when soaring. By doing this they can more easily sneak up on their favorite prey — squirrels and chipmunks, which can become desensitized by the more common sight of Turkey Vultures soaring overhead.
The population of Zone-tailed Hawks that we see in the summers in Los Alamos is migratory. Although the species is largely resident over most of its range from central South American to northern Mexico. Los Alamos County is about as far north as Zone-tailed Hawks migrate. They are known to breed here, preferring the high desert and mixed conifer forests of Los Alamos. This spring and early summer, there have been many sightings of this relatively uncommon hawk around the Los Alamos Nature Center, and in Pueblo and Rendija Canyons.
Zone-tailed Hawks are one of the darkest hawks in North America (the other being the Common Black Hawk, which is not at all common here). Black to a very dark brown, these hawks can be distinguished from Turkey Vultures by their dark heads (not the bare red head of a Turkey Vulture), and the prominent white banding on their tails.
Find more detailed articles about Zone-tailed Hawks on these web pages: identify.whatbird.com and allaboutbirds.org. You can see beautiful photos of Zone-tailed Hawks at the Brian Small web site. For more images, perform an image search on Google or Flickr, and you’ll find many excellent photographs.