One of Florida’s least familiar hawks is beginning its fall move south.

Short-tailed Hawks live in a small, isolated Florida population, and many individuals shift from central parts of the state toward South Florida and the Keys for winter.

Cornell estimates only about 500 Short-tailed Hawks occur in the United States, all in Florida.

They can be easy to miss because they hunt high overhead. These compact buteos often soar hundreds of feet above the ground, scanning wooded edges and open areas for birds below.

Florida birds occur in both dark and light color forms, with the dark morph more common here.

Dark birds can look almost black from below except for paler flight feathers, while light morphs show much whiter underparts.

Do not rely on tail length despite the name. The more useful clues are the compact buteo shape, high soaring behavior and the Florida range.

Short-tailed Hawks hunt mostly birds and may make dramatic, steep dives from high above the canopy.

In fall, observers farther south may have a better chance to see them as birds move toward wintering areas in the Everglades and Florida Keys.

That makes October a good month to look up.

The seasonal takeaway: a small dark hawk circling very high over forest edges or open country may deserve a second look, especially during Florida’s fall raptor movement.