Lo designa como: “The Crab Hawks appear in the distance like very large Everglade Kites. In the field their color and method of flight are surprisingly alike - except that when flying high and wheeling these Hawks scale with motionless wings like the large Buteos.
“The Batista is one of the finest of Cuban birds. It flies impressively high in air, circling and whistling constantly its musical three-note call which has given rise to the native onomatopoeic name. The Crab Hawks are nowhere abundant, a pair here and another pair way yonder, in regions where there are heavy and extensive mangrove forests which shelter the great white crabs on which the Batistas feed. The Ensenada de Cochinos, the cays off the north coast of Camaguey and the west coast of the Isle of Pines, are the regions where Crab Hawks may most easily be observed. If there are any about, the crabs, all opened in characteristic fashion, will be found in the mangrove swamps. The Hawk pounces on the crab, gathers the legs and claws of each side in one of its feet, and reaching down removes the carapace by hooking the bill under its front edge. While hunting at dawn and early eve the birds fly low and are not shy at all, but at midday they circle hour after hour far in the blue. It is then that their whistling call can be heard for many miles. Gundlach has described the nest and eggs, and so also has Bangs (Auk, vol. 22) p. 307, 1905).” |
