 Short-tailed Hawk Buteo brachyurus – Family Authors: Miller,
Karl E., and Kenneth D. Meyer  Welcome to the Birds of North
America Online!       Short-tailed Hawk; light morph Figure 1.
Distribution of the Short-tailed Hawk in North and Central
America.  The Short-tailed Hawk is one of the rarest and least-
studied birds in the United States. Although restricted as a
breeder in this country to peninsular Florida, it is otherwise a
widely distributed species, occurring from northern Mexico
southward to northern Argentina, Paraguay, and southern Brazil.
Florida’s Short-tailed Hawks represent a disjunct population
separated by more than 800 km from the nearest population in
Mexico. Although the Florida population remains in the state
year-round, there is a well-defined seasonal migration to a
small wintering range in the southern peninsula and Florida
Keys. Short-tailed Hawks disperse north over most of the
peninsula for the breeding season, where their behavior and
small number make them difficult to detect. Es