Laura Erickson's For the Birds

This lizard-eating Neotropical hawk barely makes it into the United States in Texas and southeastern Arizona. Like its buteo relatives, it may gracefully soar over open areas; it also hunts from perches in cottonwoods, willows, and mesquites along lowland streams, biding its time until a lizard appears, when it darts out to grab it. This bird’s longish tail and flap-and-glide flight style makes it look like an accipiter. Indeed, it was once considered to belong to its own genus, * Asturina*.