The Black Hawk-Eagle is to be found in the tropical lowlands of the New World, mostly in partially forested areas from central Mexico to eastern Peru, southern Brazil, and parts of Argentina. Regular species in Suriname in forest.

All kind of forests but mostly a (fairly common) bird of semi-open situations, rather than primarily a rain forest species like the Ornate Hawk-eagle. It is a lowland species, but with a fairly wide tolerance, up to 2000 meter.

A stick nest of about four-and-a-half feet in diameter is built in tall trees (sometimes palms) about 17-20 meter from the ground. nest is built in smaller branches rather than crotch of large branch. The female brings new marterial throughout nesting period to the nest. The incubation period (in captivity) about 45 days. Both parents care or the young which fledge after about 70 dyas. Young have a long dependency period after fledging which could explain why adults only nest once in three years.

Feeds on mammals, birds, reptiles (snakes). Mammals are mailny hunted arboreal like small monkees, oppossums and bats. Hunts from a perced position, also seen soaring high.

This species has a large range, with an estimated global Extent of Occurrence of 8,300,000 km2. It has a large global population estimated to be 100,000-1,000,000 individuals (Ferguson-Lees et al. 2001). Global population trends have not been quantified, but the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e. declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

Sedentary in all of its range.