Swainson's Hawk

Buteo swainsoni

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered

KingdomAnimalia (Animals)
PhylumChordata (Cordats)
ClassAves (Aus)
OrderAccipitriformes
FamilyAccipitridae (Accipítrids)
GenusButeo (Buteos)
SpeciesButeo swainsoni (Swainson's Hawk)

Insufficient data

overall probability at Rincón de la Vieja National Park

1 Verified records at Rincón de la Vieja National Park

☀️ Diurnal When it's active during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

Swainson's hawk (Buteo swainsoni) is a large bird species in the Accipitriformes order. This species was named after William Swainson, a British naturalist. It is colloquially known as the grasshopper hawk or locust hawk, as it is very fond of Acrididae (locusts and grasshoppers) and will voraciously eat these insects whenever they are available. Their breeding habitat is prairie and dry grasslands in western North America. They build a stick nest in a tree or shrub or on a cliff edge. This species is a long-distance migrant, wintering in Argentina; it has been recorded as a vagrant in neighboring Chile, in the island countries of the Dominican Republic, and Trinidad and Tobago, and in Norway. Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Rincón de la Vieja National Park

Buteo nitidus

Buteo platypterus

Buteo brachyurus

Buteo albonotatus

Buteo albicaudatus

Rupornis magnirostris

10–20% · With luck

Leucopternis albicollis

Harpagus bidentatus

Elanoides forficatus

Spizaetus ornatus

Leucopternis princeps

<5% · Rare

Ictinia plumbea

<5% · Rare

See all 12 relatives Show fewer

📅 Monthly Probability

📊

Fewer than 5 records of Swainson's Hawk at Rincón de la Vieja National Park — not enough to chart months honestly.

☀️ When They're Spotted

Most active during daytime hours (6am–6pm) · across all parks (global)

☀️Diurnal

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is) · parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

#	Park	Country	Probability
1	El Palmar National Park	🇦🇷 Argentina	10–20%
2	Badlands National Park	🇺🇸 United States	10–20%
3	Yellowstone National Park	🇺🇸 United States	10–20%
4	El Triunfo	🇲🇽 Mexico	10–20%
5	Grand Teton National Park	🇺🇸 United States	5–10%
6	San Lorenzo Protected Forest	🇵🇦 Panama	5–10%
7	Soberanía National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	5–10%
8	Darién National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	5–10%
9	Big Bend National Park	🇺🇸 United States	5–10%
10	Palo Verde National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	5–10%
11	Parque Natural Metropolitano	🇵🇦 Panama	5–10%
12	Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
13	Cahuita National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
14	La Amistad International Park (Panama)	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
15	Grand Canyon National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
16	Everglades National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
17	Bastimentos Island National Marine Park	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
18	Chagres National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
19	Guadalupe Mountains National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
20	Santa Rosa National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
21	Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
22	Los Quetzales National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
23	Death Valley National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
24	Joshua Tree National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
25	Rocky Mountain National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
26	Tortuguero National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
27	Braulio Carrillo National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
28	Elk Island National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	<5%
29	Volcán Barú National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	<5%
30	Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
31	Big Cypress National Preserve	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
32	Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
33	Chirripó National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
34	Tenorio Volcano National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
35	Carara National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
36	Iberá National Park	🇦🇷 Argentina	<5%
37	Cumbres de Monterrey National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
38	Los Nevados National Natural Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	<5%
39	Cañón del Sumidero National Park	🇲🇽 Mexico	<5%
40	Zion National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
41	Sierra de la Macarena National Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	<5%
42	Glacier National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
43	Arenal Volcano National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
44	Banff National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	<5%
45	Pacific Rim National Park Reserve	🇨🇦 Canada	<5%
46	Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	<5%
47	Farallones de Cali National Natural Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	<5%
48	Yosemite National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
49	Channel Islands National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
50	Great Bear Rainforest	🇨🇦 Canada	<5%
51	Olympic National Park	🇺🇸 United States	<5%
52	Celaque National Park	🇭🇳 Honduras	Insufficient data
53	Kluane National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	Insufficient data
54	Coiba National Park	🇵🇦 Panama	Insufficient data
55	Riding Mountain National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	Insufficient data
56	Poás Volcano National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
57	Irazú Volcano National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
58	Manuel Antonio National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
59	Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
60	Chingaza National Natural Park	🇨🇴 Colombia	Insufficient data
61	El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve	🇲🇽 Mexico	Insufficient data
62	Rincón de la Vieja National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
63	Jasper National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	Insufficient data
64	Masaya Volcano National Park	🇳🇮 Nicaragua	Insufficient data
65	Marino Ballena National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
66	Podocarpus National Park	🇪🇨 Ecuador	Insufficient data
67	Tijuca National Park	🇧🇷 Brazil	Insufficient data
68	Piedras Blancas National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
69	Corcovado National Park	🇨🇷 Costa Rica	Insufficient data
70	Denali National Park	🇺🇸 United States	Insufficient data
71	Point Pelee National Park	🇨🇦 Canada	Insufficient data

← Back to Rincón de la Vieja National Park

Swainson's Hawk

Closest Relatives at Rincón de la Vieja National Park

Gray-lined Hawk

Broad-winged Hawk

Short-tailed Hawk

Zone-tailed Hawk

White-tailed Hawk

Roadside Hawk

White Hawk

Double-toothed Kite

American Swallow-tailed Kite

Ornate Hawk-Eagle

Barred Hawk

Plumbeous Kite

📅 Monthly Probability

☀️ When They're Spotted

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found