This is Bird Note. In northwestern Belize, a long upward slope leads to a clearing at the edge of an escarpment.

This rocky outcropping offers a sweeping view of the tropical forest below. As the morning sun causes warm air to rise, a pair of white hawks soars into view, the male calling.

In flight, a white hawk is shaped like a compact red-tailed hawk.

Sparkling white overall with black markings, its plumage is striking for a hawk.

The pair scans below for reptile prey.

A diminutive dark falcon, a bat falcon, swoops in, a lighting on a bare branch.

Its blue-black head is patterned like a peregrine falcons. The white upper breast contrasts with a darkly barred chest and cinnamon belly.

This 10-inch falcon hunts on the wing, chasing down swifts, dragonflies, and the bats that give it its name. Now, a rhythmic cry draws attention to a large raptor.

An ornate hawk eagle perched at the forest edge with a spider monkey in its talons.

More than two feet tall, the hawk eagle's head and neck are handsomely patterned in black, white,

and rust below a tall black crest.

Its underparts are finely barred in black and white. It's still warning. What

Splendid Raptor might show up next? For Bird Note, I'm Ariana Rimmel.