Birds
Harris's Hawk
Parabuteo unicinctus
Working together like a coordinated hunting pack, a family group of Harris’s hawks flushes and corners prey across the desert, a cooperative strategy documented in very few birds of prey anywhere in the world.
Overview
The Harris’s hawk, Parabuteo unicinctus, is a Least Concern bird of prey found from the southwestern United States through Central America into much of South America. Its documented habit of cooperative group hunting, combined with a cooperative breeding system in which older siblings help raise later broods, makes it one of the most socially sophisticated raptors known.
Hunting as a team
Most raptors hunt alone, but the Harris’s hawk instead coordinates with family members in groups of two to six, flushing prey toward waiting hawks in a strategy that raises hunting success for the whole group.
Status
Least Concern, remaining widespread and secure across its extensive range spanning the southwestern United States to South America.
Harris's Hawk: common questions
Why is the Harris's hawk unusual among raptors?
It is one of the few birds of prey documented hunting cooperatively, working in family groups of two to six birds to flush and corner prey, a social hunting strategy more commonly associated with mammals like wolves.
Why is the Harris's hawk popular in falconry?
Its social, cooperative nature and high trainability have made it one of the most widely used species in falconry anywhere in the world.
Do young Harris's hawks help raise their siblings?
Yes, juveniles from an earlier brood sometimes remain with their parents to help raise and defend later broods, an unusual form of cooperative breeding among raptors.
Where is the Harris's hawk found?
It ranges from desert and scrubland of the southwestern United States through Central America into much of South America.