Direct persecution to breeding pairs was the main cause of nest failure in this study. Thorstrom et al. ( 2007 ) also concluded that most Ridgway’s Hawk nest failures were due to human activity, including slash-and-burn agriculture, deliberate cutting of nesting trees, poaching nestlings for food, and direct persecution of hawks at nest sites. The misconception that Ridgway’s Hawks are poultry predators has led to their unfortunate persecution and is most likely a substantial factor (along with habitat loss) for the species’ rapid population decline throughout Hispaniola. This misconception is fuelled by confusion with the larger, sympatric Red-tailed Hawk, which does prey on chickens. Human disturbance at nest sites has been documented to negatively impact breeding behaviour resulting in breeding failures in a number of raptor species