Conservation

White Hawk has a very wide distribution, and although the population overall is believed to be in decline, its IUCN Red List status is as Least Concern (BirdLife International 2012). It is considered a species of Special Protection under Mexican law (NOM-059 SEMARNAT 2010). White Hawk also is a species of high concern to Partners in Flight (Berlanga et al. 2010). Based on determinations of habitat loss, Berlanga et al. (2010) estimated that 50% or more of its population has been lost in Mexico during the last century.

The relative abundance of White Hawk usually is assessed as fairly common to common (Mexico; Howell and Webb 1995), fairly common (Costa Rica, Stiles and Skutch 1989; Panama, Ridgely and Gwynne 1989), rare to locally uncommon (Ecuador; Ridgely and Greenfield 2001a), and as uncommon (Peru; Schulenberg et al. 2010).

White Hawk is dependent on tropical evergreen forest and consequently is vulnerable to forest fragmentation or widespread forest loss. The primary threats to this habitat are logging of mature forest and conversion for agriculture and livestock production.