Maine state raptor biologist Erynn Call said Monday that the great black hawk that came to Maine for two months and settled for the winter in Deering Oaks, before it succumbed to frostbite and died in January, will be mounted and displayed at the Maine State Museum.

Call said the decision was made by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, and while the large hawk was not native to Maine, it tells the story of migrant birds that fly off course and end up in Maine.

“IFW did make the decision on the great black hawk, and it will be at the Maine State Museum,” Call said. “I wouldn’t call it a non-native, I’d call it a migrant. To our knowledge, it did come here by the natural process of migration. This happens to other species of birds as well.”

The great black hawk was the center of tremendous media and public attention, particularly since it settled and foraged for food in the Portland park from late November until it was found unable to fly on Jan. 20 during a snowstorm. Terra Fletcher and her husband, Dan Legnard, went out in the storm on skis to look for the hawk because they were worried about its ability to survive the winds and cold, and found it on the ground.

Fletcher, who has trained as a falconer, contacted Avian Haven, a wild bird rehabilitation center in Freedom.

Avian Haven did not return requests for comment. However, the rehabilitation center posted numerous updates on the bird’s declining health, while working to save it. Ultimately, it had to be euthanized because the frostbite on its legs was so severe, Avian Haven reported on Jan. 31.

Great black hawks are native to Central and South America, and this was only the second time the species was seen in the United States, according to Maine Audubon. It was first seen in Maine on Aug. 6, according to Maine Audubon. It was later seen in Deering Oaks in the late fall.

Maine Audubon naturalist Doug Hitchcox said it was seen foraging on mice and rats.

Call said the bird’s story as a wayward migrant will be an important one to tell to the public, and the Maine State Museum was the perfect organization to tell that story.