Occurrence of the great black hawk ( <i>Buteogallus urubitinga</i> ) in the largest urban area of South America

Abstract The great black hawk is widely distributed in South America, including Brazil and the state of São Paulo, but it is uncommon in the region of the city of São Paulo (Grande São Paulo), the largest urban area in South America. We compiled, organized, and analyzed available records of the species for this highly urbanized region in the literature, ornithological databases, and online birdwatching platforms, and produced field data. We obtained 13 records from four locations between 2018 and 2024. All records were associated with humid and flooded environments, mainly artificial reservoirs. The long period without records and the low number of recent detections suggest several possibilities: the species has always been uncommon in Grande São Paulo, perhaps for geographic, environmental, ecological, and/or climatic reasons; the species may be colonizing lakes and reservoirs created in recent decades; or the species is just a regional vagrant bird in Grande São Paulo. Nonetheless, the presence of this hawk in the surroundings of the largest urban area in South America shows the importance of the wetlands and floodplain remnants of the Alto Tietê Hydrographic Basin, which are threatened environments that urgently need protection by the establishment of conservation units.