[4] The head, neck, upper back and entire undersurface except for the black wing tips and basal half of the tail are white.

[3] In flight, this hawk glides on level wings and soars frequently throughout the day, though it is easily spotted when perched at exposed positions at distances over 1 km.

[4] The juvenile is similar to the adult but the plumage is fairly spotted overall,[4] with dark streaks on the white crown and nape which are visible at a distance.

[3] The upper wing coverts are fringed whitish and there are dark bars at the base of the tail which are more numerous and noticeable than in adults.

The mantled hawk has a small and patchy distribution within the Atlantic Forest of South America, but may generally occur at higher altitudes than similar species.

[6] It is endemic to lowland and montane forest fragments in eastern Brazil ranging from Alagoas and Bahia to Santa Catarina;[4] southeast Paraguay in states such as Alto Paraná Department, Iguassu and Puerto Bertoni;[4][7] and extreme northeast Argentina.

[9] Alongside continuous evergreen forest, it also appears to use edges, natural clearings and patches of dry trees along surrounding hills.

[1] Although agricultural conversion and deforestation for mining and plantation production have led to large population declines, these are regarded as historical threats.

[7] In human presence, mantled hawks are fairly vocal and call repeatedly, which makes them relatively easy to detect when present a few kilometres away.