Common Black Hawk

How to find it

Scan big trees near the ocean on the Pacific coast, where it often perches beside Black Vultures. Low perches at water edges and in mangroves are worth checking too, since it hunts crabs from small trees or low perches. The mouth of the Tárcoles River is an estuary, and a guided boat trip is described as the best way to explore it. On a sunset boat trip on the lower Río Tárcoles, one group had good views of a pair of perched birds. In March, another group found one on a morning walk in a mangrove forest near Tárcoles, alongside Mangrove Vireo and the endemic Mangrove Hummingbird. Keep an eye on the sky around midday, when it often soars.

How to recognise it

Adults are slate black with one broad white band across a short tail. The cere, the skin in front of the eye, and the legs are yellow, and the wings are broad.

In flight, a pale patch shows near the wingtips, at the base of the underside of the primary feathers. That mark is noted for the species in general.

Young birds look quite different. They are dark brown above with buff spots, the head and underparts are buff with heavy dark streaks, and the tail is barred. A Costa Rica bird guide notes that the immature is brown like the immature Great Black Hawk, so a young bird needs a careful look.

What it sounds like

Recording: chris_and_pamela_pipes, CC0 1.0, source, read 4 Nov 2026.

Behaviour and diet

It eats mostly crabs, which explains its Spanish name. It also takes reptiles, frogs, turtle eggs and hatchlings, and carrion. It drops onto prey from a low perch and sometimes runs along beaches or mudbanks after crabs.

It is usually solitary and often soars, especially around midday. It nests on a stick platform in a tree, often a mangrove, and usually lays a single egg. It breeds in the dry season.

Where it lives

It stays near water: mangroves, mudflats, beaches, rivers, streams and swamps. It ranges from the lowlands to the lower mountain foothills, rarely reaching about 750 m.

A Costa Rican natural history account lists these conservation areas for it: Tortuguero, Tempisque, Pacífico Central, Osa, Guanacaste, Arenal, Amistad Caribe and Cordillera Volcánica Central. Along both coasts it is fairly common, while inland it is uncommon or scarce.

Similar birds

The Great Black Hawk is larger and heavier, with black and white barred thighs, while the Common Black Hawk has solid black thighs. In general it is smaller, with more brown in the wings and narrower white tail bands, and in Central America its cere is a brighter yellow. Adults resemble Zone-tailed Hawks, but are larger with fewer white bars on the tail. The Mangrove Black Hawk (Buteogallus subtilis) has short rounded wings and lives in mangrove forests.

Names and lore in Costa Rica

Costa Rican Spanish lists give Gavilán Cangrejero, and a variant, Gavilán Cangrejo, also appears. The name points to its crab diet, since cangrejo means crab. The Costa Rican government wildlife guide uses Gavilán cangrejero, and photo sites often write Gavilán Cangrejero Negro.

Status and conservation

The AOCR lists it as a resident (R), and the IUCN lists it as Least Concern.

Photography tips

Scan low perches near water edges and mangroves for a close, steady view, since it hunts crabs from small trees or low perches. One photographer shot a Tárcoles bird with a 300 mm lens at 1/800 s, f/11 and ISO 800, which shows a mid-range telephoto can work there.