Are Hawks Scavengers?
Hawks are scavengers. Hawks are carnivores as well as opportunistic feeders and will scavenge if a chance presents itself. While most species prefer live prey, some species of hawk, such as the red-tailed hawk, are more likely to scavenge than others.
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What Is a Scavenger?
An animal that is a scavenger will feed on the carcasses of dead animals, called carrion. This means that if live food is unavailable, hawks will eat roadkill and the remains of another animal’s kill.
What Do Hawks Eat?
Scavenging hawks are not picky eaters but prefer small, defenseless, live prey when hunting. Smaller birds, rodents, amphibians, and lizards are their most common marks. If hungry enough, larger hawks will be a little more ambitious. Capable of carrying up to three times their weight, hawks will hunt jackrabbits and small domesticated animals like cats. They are even known to pluck the koi out of koi ponds.
The Hawk’s Hunting Technique
Hawks are solitary hunters that prowl during the day. With eyesight twice as good as humans’, hawks use their specially adapted wings to make sharp turns while in a dive. They prefer to dive onto prey from a perch and will, in fact, choose habitats with numerous high perches over those with more available food. Unlike falcons, which capture prey with their beaks, hawks catch prey in their large talons. They then carry their prey back to a perch to behead and consume. Small prey is swallowed whole, but with larger prey, they begin feeding on shoulders and ribs.
Resources
- Texas A&M AgriLife – Texas Natural Wildlife – “Scavenging Birds.“
- Hawk Mountain Sanctuary: Raptor Conservation, Education, Observation & Research – “Red-Tailed Hawk.“
- Animal Planet – “Hawk: Facts, Pictures.”
