Cuban Black Hawk Buteogallus gundlachii Scientific name definitions

The Cuban Black Hawk is a large, dark raptor restricted to coastal regions of Cuba and the Isle of Youth (Isla de la Juventud). It is a large, blackish hawk with a yellow cere and legs and a bold white subterminal tail band. The plumage of the immature is quite different, being brown above with buffy mottling and pale below with brown streaks. The Cuban Black Hawk is smaller and browner than the Common Black Hawk (Buteogallus anthracinus) of the North American mainland, with which it was once considered conspecific, with a whitish malar stripe. The Cuban Black Hawk is distinctive within its range. It occurs primarily in mangroves, where it feeds largely on crabs, hunting from a perch or on foot.