Gavilán de cintoverde

Drawing of a Buteo costensis by field naturalist Luciano Eun, 1927

Gavilán de cintoverde (Castellanese, Ingerish "green-belted hawk") is the common name for several related species of the genus Buteo that live in the south and central areas of the Ardisphere.

Classification

Although commonly called hawk (gavilán) they are technically a type of buzzard (Buteo). They are also sometimes considered as sparrow-hawks in Ingerish terminology.

Appearance

These hawks are notable for their distinctive band of green feathers on the belly and around to the flanks. They hunt mostly smaller birds, small mammals like mice, and sometimes frogs or lizards.

Distribution

The most widely distributed is the Buteo costensis, whose range covers most of Departamento del Centro excepting the far east, and overlaps into the Distrito Federal and the northernmost parts of Departamento del Sur. The Buteo bahagalensis is a slightly smaller and less distinctively colored but related species in the Bahagala Valley in far eastern Departamento del Centro. There is also the more distantly related Buteo quianensis with a limited range in Comuna de Ranas in Departamento Occidental.

In Ardispherian Culture

The birds are considered a kind of symbol or mascot of the "cowboy" culture of the Costa de Dragones region in the country. There is a recurring symbolic appearance of "amigo gavilán" ("friend hawk") in the famous poem Che Kim by Isolde Pio.