Rough-legged Hawk

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

Codes: Common Name: RLHA Scientific Name: BUTLAG ITIS Taxonomic No.: 175373

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Overview

Rough-legged Hawk: Large hawk with brown upperparts, paler, streaked head, brown-spotted white breast, and dark breast band. The legs are fully feathered. Wings are mostly pale below and dark-edged. Upper half of tail is white, lower half is finely banded. Uncommon dark phase is brown-black overall.

Range and Habitat

Rough-legged Hawk: Breeds in northern Canada. Spends winters in southern Canada and northern U.S. Prefers open country, upland tundra, plains, and marshes.

Topo Map: Hawk-like Body

Listen to Call

Voice Text

Generally silent

Interesting Facts

The Rough-legged Hawk was first described in 1763 by Erik Pontoppidan, Danish author, bishop, and historian.

The name "Rough-legged" Hawk refers to the feathered legs. This hawk, the Ferruginous Hawk, and the Golden Eagle are the only American hawks to have legs feathered all the way to the toes.

Their nests sometimes contain the bones of caribou along with sticks.

A group of hawks has many collective nouns, including a "boil", "knot", "spiraling", "stream", and "tower" of hawks.

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Yury Lisyak

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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.

Rough-legged Hawk

● Song: Generally silent

● Foraging & Feeding: Rough-legged Hawk: Hunts mostly small mammals, especially lemmings during the summer; also takes birds or eats carrion.

● Breeding & nesting: Rough-legged Hawk: Lays two to three white eggs with brown streaks or blotches in a nest made of sticks, lined with moss, and built on a cliff. Eggs are incubated for 31 days mostly by the female.

● Similar species: Rough-legged Hawk: Northern Harrier has thinner wings and lacks white on tail. Harlan's Hawk has more mottling on underparts and has a whiter uppertail surface.

Flight Pattern

Alternates powerful flaps with glides., Hangs in wind and hovers over one spot.

● Range & Habitat: Rough-legged Hawk: Breeds in northern Canada. Spends winters in southern Canada and northern U.S. Prefers open country, upland tundra, plains, and marshes.

^BreedingMonogamous

^PopulationCommon in range, Uncommon on wintering grounds

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight30.4 Ounces

Hawk-like Body

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

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