Short-tailed hawks occur in the Nearctic and Neotropical regions. In the United States, short-tailed hawks reside mainly in southern Florida. In recent years they have been expanding their range northward to southern Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico, although no breeding has yet been reported in these states. Their range extends from the northern areas of Mexico to as far south as northern Argentina. A related taxon, Buteo albigula, which occurs in the temperate zone of the Andes and parts of Chile, was formerly considered a subspecies of short-tailed hawks but it is now generally given full species status.
Many populations appear to be migratory. Populations in Mexico may migrate as far south as Costa Rica. The population in Florida is disjunct by about 800 km from other populations and is partially migratory. In that population, individuals breed throughout most of the peninsula north to north-central Florida, but migrate during the winter to the southern tip of the peninsula and some of the Florida Keys. Populations from Panama and throughout South America are not known to migrate.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native ); neotropical (Native )
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Bibliographic Citation: Hasenjager, M. 2008. "Buteo brachyurus" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 27, 2013 at
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