Mantled Hawk Pseudastur polionotus Scientific name definitions

The Mantled Hawk is a rather large black and white hawk of Atlantic forests of eastern South America. It typically is found in hilly or mountainous areas, ranging from Alagoas and Bahia states in northeastern Brazil south to eastern Paraguay and Uruguay. It forms a superspecies with the widespread White Hawk (Leucopternis albicollis) and with the Gray-backed Hawk (Leucopternis occidentalis) of the Tumbesian region. The only similar sympatric species is the White-necked Hawk (Leucopternis lacernulatus), which is smaller and has a terminal black tail band and pale irides. The Mantled Hawk feeds on reptiles and amphibians, birds, and small mammals. The nest and breeding behavior of this species are undescribed.

47–51 cm; wingspan 118–129 cm (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ). Head, neck, upper back and entire underparts white , rest of upperparts and base of tail bluish-slate; terminal half of tail white ; white tips of secondaries and, more narrowly, primaries; wings occasionally appear obviously two-toned from below, with paler coverts and darker flight-feathers (2 Seipke, S.H., Kajiwara, D. and Albuquerque, J.B.L. (2006). Field identification of Mantled Hawk Leucopternis polionotus. Neotropical Birding. 1: 42-47. Close ); iris dark brown, cere pale yellow, legs and feet pale orange-yellow. Tail pattern separates it from congeners, especially wholly allopatric <em>P. albicollis</em> and broadly sympatric <em>Buteogallus lacernulatus</em> ; in flight latter is relatively shorter-winged, with noticeable black subterminal band on longer tail and black trailing edge of wings (2 Seipke, S.H., Kajiwara, D. and Albuquerque, J.B.L. (2006). Field identification of Mantled Hawk Leucopternis polionotus. Neotropical Birding. 1: 42-47. Close ). Compared with Leptodon forbesi, which co-occurs with present species in NE Brazil and shares white leading edge of wing, note wings held only very slightly above the horizontal in flight or else soars on flat, broad, rounded wings; also all-white tail (dark bands at base usually invisible, perched or in flight), while at rest wings reach either level with or beyond tail tip (3 Seipke, S. H., F. V. Dénes, F. Pallinger, R. Thorstrom, J.-M. Thiollay, L. F. Silveira, and W. S. Clark (2011). Field identification of White-collared Kite Leptodon forbesi and similar-looking species in north-east Brazil. Neotropical Birding 8:29–39. Close ). Female is similar to male, but larger. Immature is spotted or barred with white on lower back and has dusky streaking on head and hindneck.

E Brazil (from Alagoas and Bahia) S to N Rio Grande do Sul and SE Paraguay (Alto Paraná), where now very rare.

Forests , including those of Paraná pine (Araucaria angustifolia) (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ) in tropical zone from sea-level, but typically in mountainous areas; mainly above 500 m and to at least 1500 m (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Presumably sedentary, but records from coastal lowlands sometimes speculated as representing seasonal movement, e.g. said to be commoner in Serra do Mar of Paraná during winter months of Apr–Nov (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ).

Some birds, small snakes and geckos, as well as other lizards (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), large insects such as cockroaches (4 Pimentel, L., and F. Olmos (2011). The birds of Reserva Ecológica Guapiaçu (REGUA), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Cotinga 33:6–22. Close ), and rock cavy (Kerodon rupestris) and other small mammals recorded. Birds taken include passerines such as thrushes (Turdidae) and tanagers (Thraupidae), but also larger species such as a White-tailed Trogon (Trogon viridis), Common Squirrel-cuckoo (Piaya cayana) and Red-tailed Amazon (Amazona brasiliensis), exceptionally even a Dusky-legged Guan (Penelope obscura) (5 Martuscelli, P. (1996). Hunting behaviour of the Mantled Hawk Leucopternis polionota and the White-necked Hawk L. lacernulata in southeastern Brazil. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club. 116(2): 114-116. Close ). Hunts by still-hunting from exposed perches c. 5–7 m above ground (sometimes using the same perch for several days), or ambushes birds within fruiting trees or flowering shrubs (5 Martuscelli, P. (1996). Hunting behaviour of the Mantled Hawk Leucopternis polionota and the White-necked Hawk L. lacernulata in southeastern Brazil. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club. 116(2): 114-116. Close ); has also been reported to follow army-ant swarms (4 Pimentel, L., and F. Olmos (2011). The birds of Reserva Ecológica Guapiaçu (REGUA), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Cotinga 33:6–22. Close ). Captures prey on ground, as well as above it. In Sept–Nov 2008 study during partial deforestation of a semi-deciduous fragment (c. 37 ha) 1290 m above sea-level at top of a mine dig in S Minas Gerais, this species demonstrated some opportunism by using recently cleared areas to ambush prey (6 Salvador, L. F., Jr (2010). Behaviour and diet of the Mantled Hawk Leucopternis polionotus (Accipitridae; Buteoninae) during deforestation of an Atlantic Rainforest landscape in Southeast Brazil. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia. 18(1): 68-71. Close ).

Most often heard call is a piercing overslurred whistle 'weeeuw' given at intervals. Also gives a sequence of high-pitched whistles 'bibibi...bee-eh' (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), both perched and in flight (7 Vasconcelos, M. F., and T. A. Melo-Júnior (2001). An ornithological survey of Serra do Caraça, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Cotinga 15:21–31. Close ).

No detailed information available; nest with one chick found in mid-Jul in Paraná (8 Luçolli, S.C. (1991). Em busca de gavião-pombo-grande. Atualidades Orn.. 44: 3-4. Close ).

Not globally threatened. Currently considered Near Threatened. CITES II. Total population believed to be small, and thought to be in moderately rapid decline owing to habitat loss and fragmentation. BirdLife International states that it is rare to locally fairly common in E Brazil from Alagoas S to Rio Grande do Sul (but in latter state known solely from recent sight records (9 Kirwan, G.M. and Williams, R.S.R. (1999). Mantled Hawk Leucopternis polionota in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Cotinga. 11: 97. Close ), an old specimen said to have been of this species having been destroyed (10 Carlos, C.J. (2005). A supposed early specimen of Mantled Hawk Leucopternis polionotus from Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Cotinga. 24: 116. Close ) ) and rare in SE Paraguay (Alto Paraná, only three records, last in 1989, despite recent extensive fieldwork; possibly extinct). Presence in NE Argentina (Misiones) merely hypothetical (11 Mazar Barnett, J., and M. Pearman (2001). Lista Comentada de las Aves Argentinas. Annotated Checklist of the Birds of Argentina. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Close ); equally, claimed occurrence in E Uruguay appears to be based entirely on erroneous supposition (10 Carlos, C.J. (2005). A supposed early specimen of Mantled Hawk Leucopternis polionotus from Rio Grande do Sul, southern Brazil. Cotinga. 24: 116. Close ). As this raptor appears to exist at very low densities, it has been inferred that its total population is unlikely to exceed uppermost hundreds (1 Ferguson-Lees, J., and D. A. Christie (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm, London, UK. Close ), although, in view of the species’ rather extensive range (c. 640,000 km²), this may be too conservative; BirdLife International suggests, pending further research, a figure in band 2500–9999 mature individuals, equating to 3750–14,999 (rounded to 3500–15,000) individuals in total. Because of its more upland and extensive range, this species is generally regarded as less obviously threatened by deforestation than is Buteogallus lacernulatus. Nevertheless, agricultural conversion, as well as deforestation for mining activities and plantation production, has been a threat to its habitats. Currently, main threats are urbanization, industrialization, agricultural expansion and colonization, and associated road-building. Some observations in Brazil indicate that this species is able to adapt to landscapes composed of pine plantations and native forest. It occurs in several protected areas in Brazil, including Serra do Itajaí, Araucárias and Sâo Joaquin National Parks and Sassafrás Biological Reserve, as well as Reserva Ecológica Guapiaçu (4 Pimentel, L., and F. Olmos (2011). The birds of Reserva Ecológica Guapiaçu (REGUA), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Cotinga 33:6–22. Close ), Três Picos State Park (12 Mallet-Rodrigues, F., and M. L. M. Noronha (2009). Birds in the Parque Estadual dos Três Picos, Rio de Janeiro state, south-east Brazil. Cotinga 31:96–107. Close ) and Desengano State Park (13 Pacheco, J.F., Parrini, R., Fonseca, P.S.M., Whitney, B.M. and Maciel, N.C. (1996). Novos registros de aves para o Estado do Rio de Janeiro: Região Norte. Atualidades Orn.. 72: 10–12. Close ) (Rio de Janeiro), Caparaó National Park and RPPN do Caraça (14 Zorzin, C., Carvalho, C.E.A., Carvalho Filho, E.P.M. and Canuto, M. (2006). Novos registros de Falconiformes raros e ameaçados para o estado de Minas Gerais. Revista Brasileira de Ornitologia. 14(4): 417-421. Close ) (Minas Gerais), IIha do Cardoso State Park (5 Martuscelli, P. (1996). Hunting behaviour of the Mantled Hawk Leucopternis polionota and the White-necked Hawk L. lacernulata in southeastern Brazil. Bull. Brit. Orn. Club. 116(2): 114-116. Close ) and Intervales State Park (2 Seipke, S.H., Kajiwara, D. and Albuquerque, J.B.L. (2006). Field identification of Mantled Hawk Leucopternis polionotus. Neotropical Birding. 1: 42-47. Close ) (São Paulo), and Floresta Nacional de Três Barras (Santa Catarina) (15 Corrêa, L., S. Bazílio, D. Woldan, and A. L. Boesing (2008). Avifauna da Floresta Nacional de Três Barras (Santa Catarina, Brasil). Atualidades Ornitológicas 143:38-41. Close ). Surveys and monitoring are needed in order to obtain accurate population estimate and to determine trends, and, with massive deforestation continuing throughout its range, all threats require investigation. Study of this raptor’s ecology and its ability to persist in fragmented habitats is desirable. Most importantly, all existing protected areas must be effectively protected, and the protected-area network should be extended to include all remaining core areas of forest.