Boletín de la Sociedad Zoológica del Uruguay, 2026
Vol. 35(1): e35.1.2
ISSN 2393-6940
https://journal.szu.org.uy
DOI: https://doi.org/10.26462/35.1.2
ABSTRACT
This is a report of the nesting of an Ornate Hawk-Eagle in
the largest remnant of Atlantic Forest in the state of Minas
Gerais, Brazil. This is the first documented record of a nest
of this species in the Rio Doce State Park and shows the
importance of protected areas in the conservation of
species with large home ranges and sensitive to
environmental changes.
Keywords: Accipitridae, Birds of prey, Conservation,
Neotropics.
RESUMEN
Registro de un nido de Águila Crestuda Real
(Spizaetus ornatus) en el Parque Estatal Río Doce,
Minas Gerais, Brasil. Reportamos el registro de un nido
de Águila Crestuda Real en el mayor remanente de Mata
Atlántica de Minas Gerais. Este es el primer registro
documentado de un nido de la especie para el Parque
Estatal del Río Doce y revela la importancia de las áreas
protegidas en la conservación de especies con grandes
áreas de vida y sensibles a cambios ambientales.
Palabras clave: Accipitridae, Aves de rapiña,
Conservación, Neotrópico.
The Ornate Hawk-Eagle Spizaetus ornatus
(Daudin, 1800) is a species inhabiting forested
landscapes in the Neotropic region, with a wide
distribution from Central to South America (Fergusson-
Lee and Christie, 2001; Ortega-Álvarez et al., 2018;
BirdLife International, 2024). The species has become
increasingly rare in some regions (Canuto et al., 2012;
BirdLife International, 2024) and is globally and
nationally (Brazil) classified as Near Threatened (NT)
due to forest degradation and fragmentation in its
range (ICMBio, 2018; IUCN Red List, 2022). In the
Atlantic Forest, the Ornate Hawk-Eagle is listed as
endangered in the Brazilian states of Bahia (Sema,
2017), Minas Gerais (Machado, Martins and
Drummond, 2005; Copam-MG, 2010), and Espírito
Santo (Chaves et al., 2019), Rio de Janeiro (Bergallo,
Rocha, Alves and Sluys, 2000), São Paulo (Bressan,
Kierulff and Sugieda, 2009), Paraná (Mikich and
Bérnils, 2004), Santa Catarina (Consema-SC, 2011),
Rio Grande do Sul (Marques et al., 2002; Rio Grande
do Sul, 2014).
Ornate Hawk-Eagle nests are generally difficult to
observe in tropical forests (Klein, Harper, Bierregaard
and Powel, 1988; Phillips and Hatten, 2013; Teixeira,
Mesquita, Ferreira and Araújo, 2019), which results in a
scarcity of nesting reports, limiting studies about the
species' reproductive biology. There are few records of
Ornate Hawk-Eagle nesting in South America, most of
which come from the northern part of the species range
Bol. Soc. Zool. Uruguay (2ª época). 2026. ISSN 2393-6940Vol. 35(1): e35.1.2
NOTA
RECORD OF AN ORNATE HAWK-EAGLE (Spizaetus ornatus) NEST IN THE RIO DOCE STATE PARK,
MINAS GERAIS, BRAZIL
1,2,3* 2,3 1,2,3 2,3
Paulo Quadros de Menezes , Marcelio Vieira da Cunha , Brener Fabres da Silva Henrique Mariano ,
1,2 1,2,4
Yara da Conceição Nolasco Santos , and Aureo Banhos
1 Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Biologia Animal), Centro de Ciências Humanas e
Naturais, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, Avenida Fernando Ferrari, 514, Goiabeiras, Vitória,
Espírito Santo, 29075-910, Brazil.
2 Projeto Harpia - Mata Atlântica (Harpy Eagle Project - Atlantic Forest), Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo,
Avenida Fernando Ferrari, 514, Goiabeiras, Vitória, Espírito Santo, 29075-910, Brazil.
3 Instituto Últimos Refúgios, rua Amarílio Lunz, 16, República, Vitória, Espírito Santo, 29070-030, Brazil.
4 Departamento de Biologia, Centro de Ciências Exatas, Naturais e da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Espírito
Santo, Alto Universitário, s/n, Guararema, Alegre, Espírito Santo, 29500-000, Brazil.
*Corresponding author: paulo.q.menezes@edu.ufes.br
Fecha de recepción: 05 de noviembre de 2024
Fecha de aceptación: 16 de enero de 2026
,
2
QUADROS DE MENEZES et al.
(Lyon and Kuhnigk, 1985; Klein et al., 1988;
Montenegro et al., 1992; Naveda-Rodríguez, 2004;
Joenck, Zilio and Mendonça-Lima, 2011) or are
concentrated in Argentina (Navas and Bo, 1991;
Joenck et al., 2011) and in Rio Grande do Sul state,
Brazil (Meller, 2022).
The Doce River Basin comprises one of the largest
Atlantic Forest hydrographic systems, covering the
Brazilian states of Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais, ,
historically supporting extensive continuous forest
cover but currently characterized by severe habitat
loss, fragmentation, and landscape degradation
(Ribeiro et al., 2009). Within this basin, records of the
Ornate Hawk-Eagle are scarce and mostly limited to
sporadic visual detections or isolated occurrences,
suggesting low detectability and the possible
persistence of small populations (Ribeiro et al., 2024).
As a result, confirmed breeding records in the Doce
River Basin are exceptionally rare, reinforcing the
relevance of this region for evaluating the species'
reproductive ecology in highly fragmented Atlantic
Forest landscapes. In the Doce River Basin, in the state
of Espírito Santo, there is only one record of a nest,
discovered in 2013 in the municipality of Santa Teresa
(www.wikiaves.com/1700148).
Here, we provide details of the first record of an
Ornate Hawk-Eagle nest in the Rio Doce State Park
(PERD) (19°32'20''S 42°32'45''W), Minas Gerais,
Brazil (Fig. 1), which is the largest continuous area of
preserved Atlantic Forest in the state, covering
2
approximately 360 km . On October 14, 2023, during
the Harpy Eagle Project - Atlantic Forest fieldwork,
researcher BFS noticed an adult individual of Ornate
Hawk-Eagle (presumably a female, based on its size)
perched on a Cariniana legalis (Lecythidaceae) (Fig.
2), which caught the attention of the group of
researchers accompanying him. The bird remained on
the perch for about eight minutes, with intermittent
periods of vocalization, changing position only shortly
before taking a low flight over the canopy. A search of
the area began and, after about 20 minutes, researcher
PQM detected the presence of twigs organized as a
nest on a branch of a Basiloxylon brasiliensis
(Malvaceae) tree. The team later confirmed that it was
a nest of an Ornate Hawk-Eagle (Fig. 3).
During a second visit to the nest, on December
Bol. Soc. Zool. Uruguay (2ª época). 2026. ISSN 2393-6940Vol. 35(1): e35.1.2
Fig. 1. Location of the Ornate Hawk-Eeagle nest in the Rio Doce State Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The large green area
highlights the Rio Doce State Park (PERD). The yellow circle indicates our record; red squares indicate previous nest records in
Guatemala (Lyon and Kuhnigk, 1985 (a); Klein et al., 1988 (b)), Venezuela (Naveda-Rodríguez, 2004 (d)), Argentina (Navas and
Bo, 1991(e)), and Brazil (Montenegro et al., 1992 (c); Joenck et al., 2011 (f); www.wikiaves.com/1700148 (g); Meller, 2022 (h)).
3Record of an ornate hawk-eagle nest in the Rio Doce State Park, Brazil
2023, the team measured the height of the tree (c. 49
®
m) and nest (c. 39 m), using a Bushnell Prime 6x24
range finding telemeter. The characteristics of the nest
follows descriptions reported in previous studies: a
cup-shaped structure built under the canopy, with dry
branches placed among extremely closed forks
(Fergusson-Lee and Christie, 2001; Simon and
Pacheco, 2005; Joenck et al., 2011), which made the
detection difficult.
The nest was being used by the couple, indicating
reproductive activity, as evidenced by the behavior of
the individuals (female on the nest for an extended
period and male bringing prey to the nest) (pers.
observ.). After two visits within an interval of two
months, no offspring was observed. However, on a new
visit to the nest in October 2024, the team recorded an
eaglet approximately 1 month old (based on size and
plumage characteristics), being fed by the adult
female. This direct evidence confirms successful
breeding of the species in the area, demonstrating that
the site functions as a reproductive territory.
The discovery of nests is of great importance for the
conservation of threatened birds (Simon and Pacheco,
2005), as it represents a fundamental component of
studies on breeding biology, providing valuable data on
reproductive parameters, habitat use patterns, and the
environmental pressures faced by species (Watson,
2010). In this context, the discovery of an Ornate Hawk-
Eagle active nest in the Rio Doce State Park (PERD),
with a developing eaglet, clearly indicates the
existence of a breeding population, which is essential
for the long-term persistence of the species. Such
records not only signal local reproductive activity but
also provide a unique opportunity to guide
conservation actions and strategies. Moreover, this
finding highlights the critical role of protected areas in
maintaining suitable habitats, as they often represent
the last remaining refuges where sensitive species can
reproduce safely, reinforcing their importance for the
conservation of local biodiversity.
We would like to thank Varonil Roque Marques and
Henrique Júnior for guiding the team in the Rio Doce
State Park;the Ministério Público de Minas Gerais
(Public Prosecutor's Office of the State of Minas
Gerais); the Centro de Apoio Operacional do Meio
Ambiente (CAOMA; Environmental Operational
Bol. Soc. Zool. Uruguay (2ª época). 2026. ISSN 2393-6940Vol. 35(1): e35.1.2
Fig. 2. Adult individual of Ornate Hawk-Eagle perched on a Cariniana legalis in Rio Doce State Park, Minas Gerais, Brazil, on
October 14, 2023. Photo by Marcelio V. Cunha.
QUADROS DE MENEZES et al.
Support Center), the SEMENTE platform; the Fundo
Brasileiro para a Biodiversidade (FUNBIO; Brazilian
Biodiversity Fund); the Unidos pelo PERD initiative; the
reviewers, for their valuable comments; the Instituto
Últimos Refúgios; and the Rio Doce State Park for
supporting the research carried out by the Harpy
Project - Atlantic Forest. This is the 22th publication of
the Harpy Project.
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Editor de Sección: Raúl Maneyro
Bol. Soc. Zool. Uruguay (2ª época). 2026. ISSN 2393-6940Vol. 35(1): e35.1.2
