News Release

This hawk likes crab for dinner

Peer-Reviewed Publication

Wildlife Conservation Society

Ghost Crab

image: In 2016, authors observed a red-shouldered hawk attack and dismember another crustacean, the ghost crab (Ocypode quadrata), on a coastal beach in South Carolina, USA. view more 

Credit: Julie Larsen Maher/WCS

Red-shouldered hawks (Buteo lineatus) feed primarily on mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates, the majority of which are insects and crustaceans, with the latter represented to date only by crayfish.

In 2016, authors observed a red-shouldered hawk attack and dismember another crustacean, the ghost crab (Ocypode quadrata), on a coastal beach in South Carolina, USA.

This is the first report of a red-shouldered hawk attacking and presumably consuming any species of crab and the first report of probable ghost crab predation by a raptor in North America.

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