RANGE | Resident from south-central Arizona, southern New Mexico, and Texas, through Mexico and south into Chile, central Argentina, and Paraguay. These birds inhabit lowland areas, sparse woodlands and brushland with a moderate amount of taller vegetation and also seem to prefer open, semi-desert with saguaro cactus.

FUN FACTS | Harris hawks are one of the few social hawks and are often called the “wolves of the sky” because they live in small family groups that hunt and raise their young cooperatively. In the desert, they build their nests among cactus and had to adapt to stand on each other’s backs—curling their talons into a fist—to share the cacti. This behavior is called back-standing and it enables the lower birds to have shade and provides the higher birds with greater vantage point to survey the area for prey. As individuals, they hunt small prey like rodents, lizards, and small birds. For hunting larger prey, like rabbits, the birds tend to employ specialized skills. Some are more skilled at flushing prey from the bushes, some primarily focus on the chasing of the prey, and the larger, stronger birds are responsible for killing the prey so the family can share the food.

Older nestlings and young adults practice their hunting skills by chasing insects or jumping on sticks to imitate capturing prey. These older birds will also often serve as “nanny” to the younger birds when the adults are hunting. If a Harris hawk is injured—during a hunt or electrocution from flying into unshielded power poles—other members of the group have been known to provide them with food and protect them predators while on the ground as they recover.

They are an endangered species in California, and only a very small population of them can now be found in the Sonoran desert along the Arizona border.

This hawk was confiscated from someone who kept her illegally, on a very short leash, for 13 years. Some neighbors became aware of her when she began vocalizing a lot. When the CA Department of Fish and Wildlife agents came to remove her and another bird, they were informed that the damage to her wing was caused when she attempted to fly after a small dog. The dog’s owner grabbed the bird to protect the dog, breaking bones in her wing in the process. We named her Tala, which means wolf.

She is QUITE the personality. Now that she can choose where she wants to sit, she likes to sit on the front perch and watch everything. She has a mighty voice—one squawk from her and even the ravens take off! She is beginning to understand and appreciate enrichment, something she had never experienced before. In typical Harris Hawk style, she moves her tail back and forth before she ruffles her feathers (called rousing) to settle. She enjoys sunbathing while holding one foot up, showing that she is feeling safe and relaxed.

She loves smaller stuffed toys and rope balls that she can grab and carry around. She also likes to reach into boxes and tubes filled with raffia and packing paper to find a new toy or a treat. She enjoys novel items hung from her roof or his swing so she can work at grabbing it. Like most Harris hawks, she is such a smart bird and sometimes even enjoys some of the basic dog puzzle toys.