---
title: "Ornate Hawk-Eagle"
description: "Spizaetus ornatus — Birds. The ornate hawk-eagle (Spizaetus ornatus) is a bird of prey from the tropical Americas."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/ornate-hawk-eagle
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Ornate Hawk-Eagle

> Spizaetus ornatus — Birds. The ornate hawk-eagle (Spizaetus ornatus) is a  bird of prey from the tropical Americas.

- Scientific name: *Spizaetus ornatus*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `forest` (Forest), `jungle` (Jungle)
- iNaturalist observations: 1457
- Wikidata: [Q602388](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q602388)
- iNaturalist taxon: [5294](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/5294)

## Names

- en: Ornate Hawk-Eagle
- de: Prachthaubenadler
- es: Águila elegante
- fr: Aigle orné
- nl: Bonte kuifarend
- pt: Gavião-de-penacho
- pl: Wojownik ozdobny

## Countries with the most observations

MX (352), CR (288), BR (198), GT (69), CO (62), PA (59), BZ (58), EC (53), PE (28), TT (28), VE (20), GF (15)

## Summary

The ornate hawk-eagle (Spizaetus ornatus) is a  bird of prey from the tropical Americas. Formerly, some authorities referred to this species as the crested hawk-eagle, a name that may cause some confusion as it is more commonly used for an Asian eagle species. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae. This species has a feathered tarsus that marks it as a member of the Aquilinae or booted eagle subfamily. This species is notable for the vivid colors and bold markings of adults, which differ considerably from the far more whitish plumage of the juvenile bird. The ornate hawk-eagle ranges from central Mexico…

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

## Photo

![Ornate Hawk-Eagle](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/ornate-hawk-eagle/medium.jpg)

Photo: NINA WENÓLI · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/246518509

## Machine access

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