I was on my way up to Chivay in the Peruvian highland region towards the world’s deepest canyon – the Colca Canyon -- when I spotted a red-backed hawk on the top of a snack shop in a roadside stop. I had just taken out my camera to take a photo of the hawk when suddeny I saw a local guy was throwing a chicken head to the roof. I was very fortunate to capture the great movement.

The Variable Hawk (Red-backed Hawk) prey on almost any small to medium-sized animals that can be caught, but smallish mammals comprise more than 90% of prey in some studies. The most commonly recorded prey includes cavies, tuco-tucos, rabbits, miceand paramo rats. Birds are sometimes taken. Other prey include other rodents &lagomorphs, frogs, lizards, snakes, and fish. The Variable Hawk hunts in the typical Buteo style: prey being spotted while soaring from the air and pinned on the ground.