---
title: "Hawaiian Hawk"
description: "Buteo solitarius — Birds. The Hawaiian hawk or ʻio (Buteo solitarius) is a raptor in the genus Buteo endemic to Hawaiʻi, currently restricted to the Big Island."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/hawaiian-hawk
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Hawaiian Hawk

> Buteo solitarius — Birds. The Hawaiian hawk or ʻio (Buteo solitarius) is a raptor in the genus Buteo endemic to Hawaiʻi, currently restricted to the Big Island.

- Scientific name: *Buteo solitarius*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `forest` (Forest)
- iNaturalist observations: 675
- Wikidata: [Q1275471](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1275471)
- iNaturalist taxon: [5185](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/5185)

## Names

- en: Hawaiian Hawk
- de: Hawaii-Bussard
- es: Busardo de Hawái
- fr: Buse d'Hawaï
- nl: Hawaiibuizerd
- pt: Gavião-havaiano
- pl: Myszołów hawajski

## Countries with the most observations

US (598)

## Summary

The Hawaiian hawk or ʻio (Buteo solitarius) is a raptor in the genus Buteo endemic to Hawaiʻi, currently restricted to the Big Island. The ʻio is one of two extant birds of prey that are native to Hawaiʻi, the other being the pueo (Hawaiian short-eared owl)  and fossil evidence indicates that it inhabited the island of Hawaiʻi, Molokaʻi, Oʻahu, Maui and Kauaʻi at one time. Today, it is known to breed only on the Big Island, in stands of native ʻōhiʻa lehua (Metrosideros polymorpha) trees. The species was protected as an endangered species in the United States, but was delisted in 2020. However, the IUCN classifies…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_hawk

## Photo

![Hawaiian Hawk](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/hawaiian-hawk/medium.jpg)

Photo: Nadya Kandel · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/101496590

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/hawaiian-hawk?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).