Long-tailed Hawk

Long-tailed Hawk
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Falconiformes (or Accipitriformes, q.v.) Family: Accipitridae Genus: Urotriorchis Sharpe, 1874 Species: U. macrourus
Binomial name
Urotriorchis macrourus (Hartlaub, 1855)

The Long-tailed Hawk (Urotriorchis macrourus) is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, eagles and harriers. It is the only member of the genus Urotriorchis.

This hawk inhabits the rainforests of western and central Africa. It has a wingspan of 0.90 m and a total length of 0.60 m, including the tail of 0.30 m.

The Long-tailed Hawk primarily eats squirrels and small birds; it can also hunt chickens in the villages close to the forest. It kills prey by breaking the neck.

The mating season occurs in July and August, when the pair build a nest on a high tree. Little is known regarding nesting and breeding the young.

Etymology

"Uro-" is from the Greek "tail" (Williams 2005), and "triorchis" meant a kind of hawk thought to have three testicles—for further details see Eutriorchis. "Macro-" is from the Greek for "long" (Williams 2005), so macrourus means "long-tailed", as in the English name.

References

• BirdLife International (2004). Urotriorchis macrourus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
• Williams, Tim (2005), A Dictionary of the Roots and Combining Forms of Scientific Words, Lulu.com, ISBN 978-1-4116-5793-9 

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