Hawk-eagle! The double name brings double the excitement! It’s not at all clear to me what the difference is between an eagle and a hawk, let alone between a hawk-eagle and its two name components. Since the Ornate Hawk-Eagle (Spizaetus ornatus) (one of three Spizaetus in Costa Rica) is such a spectacularly beautiful bird, I don’t think I really care much about whether it’s a hawk or an eagle! I’m just elated that I get to see it.
Adult Ornate Hawk-Eagle at San Rafael de Santa Cruz de Turrialba, courtesy of Sue Magree
I missed the bird that Sue Magree photographed in October 2015 just 2 km from home, but on our latest Turrialba area excursion to La Esperanza de Atirro, we heard a loudly calling Ornate Hawk-Eagle and Larry Waddell documented it with the following photograph:
Ornate Hawk-Eagle near La Esperanza de Atirro
See my next post for a description of what Larry, John and Milena Beer and I found on that excursion.
Birds for Beer 