Galapagos Hawk

Galapagos Hawk (Buteo galapagoensis)

The Galapagos Hawk is one of the world’s rarest birds of prey and the archipelago’s top predator. With an estimated 250–330 mature individuals, spotting one is a true Safari highlight.

Large and broad-winged, this dark brown raptor measures around 56 cm, with yellow legs and a hooked yellow bill tipped in black. Females are larger than males, while juveniles are mottled brown and considerably paler, especially around the head. These young birds are famously bold, often perching close to visitors, or, as has been reported, even on them!

Behaviour and Diet

The Galapagos Hawk is both a hunter and a scavenger, feeding on a wide range of prey including young iguanas, lizards, small birds, rats, centipedes, locusts, and carrion such as sea lion placenta. This flexible diet, unusual even among raptors, helps it survive in the islands’ often harsh conditions.

Darwin noted their vulturous habits, observing how they gathered around tortoise carcasses, waiting patiently for a meal. In reality, their resemblance to vultures is only superficial. Genetic studies show their closest living relative is Swainson’s Hawk from the Americas. The species is thought to have colonised Galapagos relatively recently, perhaps within the last few hundred thousand years, adapting to an opportunistic, scavenging lifestyle through what biologists term convergent evolution.

Breeding

Galapagos Hawks are remarkable for their cooperative breeding system, one of the rarest among birds. A single female will mate with up to four males, all of whom share the duties of incubating eggs and feeding the chicks. This behaviour, known as cooperative polyandry, improves breeding success in a challenging environment where food and nesting sites are limited.

In exceptional cases, such as one recorded on Santiago Island in the early 1990s, a single female was observed mating with as many as eight males. This was one of the most extreme examples of polyandry known in the avian world.

Nests are large, untidy platforms of twigs built in trees or on rocky outcrops. Females typically lay two or three eggs, which hatch after 50–60 days. The young fledge after a few months but may spend years in non-breeding groups before securing a territory of their own.

Conservation and recent changes

Once common across most major islands, the Galapagos Hawk has disappeared from San Cristobal and Floreana due to human persecution. Eradication of introduced mammals such as goats and pigs, while vital for ecosystem recovery, has also affected the hawk by reducing the availability of carcasses to scavenge.

Today, smaller populations survive mainly on the drier islands where they are most likely to breed. The IUCN categorises the species as Vulnerable, at high risk of extinction.

Where To See Them

One of the best places to see Galapagos Hawks on our Safaris is on the island of Santa Fe, where they are often seen perched on treetops, scanning the landscape below.

A few years ago they even made their mark on Galapagos Safari Camp (by killing our chickens!), but it’s been a while since anyone has seen one at camp. A relief, maybe, for our handful of chickens, but deeply concerning for the species.