Ferruginous Hawk

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

Codes: Common Name: FEHA Scientific Name: BUTREG ITIS Taxonomic No.: 175377

Breeding Location:

Open landscapes, Grassland with scattered trees, Bushes, shrubs, and thickets

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Common in West, rare in East.

Egg Color:

White to pale blue with brown blotches

Number of Eggs:

2 - 6

Incubation Days:

31 - 33

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Lined with finer materials including cow dung.

Migration:

Migratory

General

Ferruginous Hawk: Large hawk with white head and streaked, rust-brown shoulders, back, and feathered legs. Underparts have scattered rufous streaks. Wings are gray-brown. Tail is white with rust-brown wash. Dark morph is red-brown with white flight feathers. Sexes are similar, but female is up to one and a half times larger than male. Juvenile lacks rust-brown on legs and has duller back.

Range and Habitat

Ferruginous Hawk: Found in Canada, south through western and central U.S. to northern Texas. Preferred habitats include lowlands, plateaus, valleys, plains, rolling hills of grasslands, agricultural lands, ranches, and the edges of deserts.

Breeding and Nesting

Ferruginous Hawk: Two to six brown blotched, white to pale blue eggs are laid in a nest built of sticks, cow dung, bones, and grass, and built on a low cliff, butte, cut bank, shrub, or tree. Both parents incubate eggs for about 28 days.

Foraging and Feeding

Ferruginous Hawk: Eats ground squirrels, jackrabbits, mice, birds, reptiles, and amphibians; hunts while soaring or from perches.

Vocalization

Ferruginous Hawk: Makes a harsh alarm call "kree-a" or "kaah" when frightened or defending territory.

Similar Species

Ferruginous Hawk: Rough-legged Hawk has a banded tail and lacks rust-brown leggings. "Krider’s” Red-tailed Hawk has more rounded wings and featherless lower legs.

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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.

Ferruginous Hawk

Ferruginous Hawk: Large hawk, white head, streaked, rust-brown shoulders, back, and feathered legs. Underparts have scattered rufous streaks. Gray-brown wings. Tail is white with rust-brown wash. Dark morph is red-brown with white flight feathers. Alternates deep flaps and glides, soars on thermals.

● Song: "kree-a", "kaah kaah"

● Foraging & Feeding: Ferruginous Hawk: Eats ground squirrels, jackrabbits, mice, birds, reptiles, and amphibians; hunts while soaring or from perches.

● Breeding & nesting: Ferruginous Hawk: Two to six brown blotched, white to pale blue eggs are laid in a nest built of sticks, cow dung, bones, and grass, and built on a low cliff, butte, cut bank, shrub, or tree. Both parents incubate eggs for about 28 days.

● Similar species: Ferruginous Hawk: Rough-legged Hawk has a banded tail and lacks rust-brown leggings. "Krider’s” Red-tailed Hawk has more rounded wings and featherless lower legs.

Flight Pattern

Soars on thermals., Alternates several deep flaps with glides.

● Range & Habitat: Ferruginous Hawk: Found in Canada, south through western and central U.S. to northern Texas. Preferred habitats include lowlands, plateaus, valleys, plains, rolling hills of grasslands, agricultural lands, ranches, and the edges of deserts.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationCommon in West, rare in East.

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight36.8 Ounces

Underparts

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

Flight feathers

Located on the wing, and collectively called remiges (singular, remex). The long stiff feathers are subdivided into two major groups based on the location and are called primaries and secondaries.

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