The Gray Hawk is a slender, elegant raptor with soft, gray plumage and neatly barred underparts. In Arizona, it is most often seen perched near lowland streams or soaring slowly over open areas, its pale underwings and white, subtly banded tail coverts visible in flight. Primarily a tropical species, it reaches the United States only in small numbers, with its Arizona range limited to the riparian woodlands of the south, where cottonwoods, willows, mesquites, and similar trees provide ideal perches and hunting grounds.
Gray Hawks are migratory, arriving in Arizona around mid-March to breed. They show strong fidelity to nesting territories, often returning to the same site year after year. Courtship is followed by nest building, with the male constructing the base and the female completing the nest with green leafy twigs. Nests are placed high in the upper third of large trees, such as cottonwood, willow, ash, oak, hackberry, or mesquite, and measure about 60 centimeters across. Egg laying typically begins in early May, with clutches averaging two eggs but occasionally ranging from four to eight. Despite these larger clutches, the average breeding success is modest, producing about 1.1 fledglings per active nest.
Although never abundant, the Gray Hawk is a distinctive and valued presence in Arizona’s riparian corridors. Its survival here depends on the preservation of streamside habitats and the water flows that sustain them, making habitat conservation essential for the continued presence of this striking raptor in the state.
