Broad-winged Hawk

Buteo platypterusOrder: FALCONIFORMES Family: Kites, Eagles and Hawks (Accipitridae)

Codes: Common Name: BWHA Scientific Name: BUTPLA ITIS Taxonomic No.: 175365

Breeding Location:

Forests, coniferous

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Common in E. US & S. Canada

Egg Color:

White to pale blue sometimes marked with brown

Number of Eggs:

2 - 4

Incubation Days:

28 - 32

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Lined with inner bark strips and evergreen sprigs.

Migration:

Migratory

General

Broad-winged Hawk: Medium-sized hawk with dark brown, mottled upperparts and brown-barred, white underparts. Pale underwings with back margins are visible in flight. Tail is dark banded. Female is larger. Juvenile has narrower tail bands and brown-streaked underparts.

Range and Habitat

Broad-winged Hawk: Occurs north from Alberta east to Nova Scotia, south through North Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa to eastern Texas, through the Gulf coast to northern Florida; not found west of the Rockies. Preferred habitats include dense deciduous and mixed woodlands, often near openings created by roads, trails, or wetlands.

Breeding and Nesting

Broad-winged Hawk: Two to four white to pale blue eggs, sometimes marked with brown, are laid in a nest made of dead sticks and fresh sprigs, lined with bark chips, and built in the crotch of a deciduous tree. Sometimes renovates nests of other species. Incubation ranges from 28 to 31 days and is carried out by the female; male brings food to her during incubation.

Foraging and Feeding

Broad-winged Hawk: Diet consists of insects, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds. Mammals are eaten entirely, while frogs and snakes are skinned, and birds are plucked. Hunts from a perch, swooping down to capture prey on the ground.

Vocalization

Broad-winged Hawk: Makes a thin, piercing whistle "peweeeeee," often given in flight, similar to the high-pitched whistle of an Eastern Wood-Pewee.

Similar Species

Broad-winged Hawk: Red-shouldered Hawk is larger with less rounded wings and rust-brown shoulders.

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

Broad-winged Hawk

Broad-winged Hawk: Medium hawk, dark brown, mottled upperparts and brown-barred, white underparts. Pale underwings with black margins visible in flight. Tail is dark banded. Feeds on amphibians, reptiles, small mammals and birds, large insects. Flap-and-glide flight, soars on thermals and updrafts.

● Song: "peeteeee", "peweeeeee"

● Foraging & Feeding: Broad-winged Hawk: Diet consists of insects, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds. Mammals are eaten entirely, while frogs and snakes are skinned, and birds are plucked. Hunts from a perch, swooping down to capture prey on the ground.

● Breeding & nesting: Broad-winged Hawk: Two to four white to pale blue eggs, sometimes marked with brown, are laid in a nest made of dead sticks and fresh sprigs, lined with bark chips, and built in the crotch of a deciduous tree. Sometimes renovates nests of other species. Incubation ranges from 28 to 31 days and is carried out by the female; male brings food to her during incubation.

● Similar species: Broad-winged Hawk: Red-shouldered Hawk is larger with less rounded wings and rust-brown shoulders.

Flight Pattern

Soars on thermals., Several rapid shallow wing beats followed by glide.

● Range & Habitat: Broad-winged Hawk: Occurs north from Alberta east to Nova Scotia, south through North Dakota, Minnesota, and Iowa to eastern Texas, through the Gulf coast to northern Florida; not found west of the Rockies. Preferred habitats include dense deciduous and mixed woodlands, often near openings created by roads, trails, or wetlands.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationCommon in E. US & S. Canada

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight14.8 Ounces

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America