Red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus) predation on multiple life stages of anurans in Bryan County, Oklahoma

Abstract

On 14 April 2016 at 10:54 CDT, from approximately 20 m away,
Caldwell (KC) observed a Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) taking
a large tadpole (>5 cm in length) from the surface of an experimental
pond tank at Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Bryan County,
Oklahoma. The tank is one of 12 tanks in an outdoor aquatics facility, all
of which are 6 m in diameter and 2.5 m deep. KC was unable to identify
the species of tadpole; however, the only anuran species observed in the
tanks at the time were bullfrogs (Lithobates catesbeiana) and southern
leopard frogs (L. sphenocephalus). The hawk immediately perched
on top of the 2.5 m high perimeter fence surrounding the tanks and
consumed the tadpole.