Swainson's Hawk

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

Codes: Common Name: SWHA Scientific Name: BUTSWA ITIS Taxonomic No.: 175367

Breeding Location:

Open landscapes, Grassland with scattered trees, Desert

Breeding Type:

Monogamous, Solitary nester

Breeding Population:

Very common to common

Egg Color:

White to light blue green with light brown marks

Number of Eggs:

2 - 4

Incubation Days:

28 - 35

Egg Incubator:

Both sexes

Nest Material:

Lined with inner bark, fresh leaves, flower clusters, down and feathers.

Migration:

Migratory

General

Swainson's Hawk: Large hawk with dark brown upperparts, white throat, rufous upper breast, and pale buff underparts. Tail is gray with faint bars, dark terminal band, and white trailing edge. Rare dark morph has uniformly dark brown upperparts and underparts with white throat patch. Intermediate colorations between light and dark morphs exist, and include a rufous morph. Sexes are similar.

Range and Habitat

Swainson's Hawk: Breeds on the western plains of North America and southwest Canada from Texas to the Yukon. In the winter, most fly south to the pampas of Argentina, a distance of more than 5,000 miles. Preferred habitats include prairies, plains, and other wide-open ranges with minimal tree cover; commonly seen perched on poles or fence posts.

Breeding and Nesting

Swainson's Hawk: Lays two to four white to light blue green eggs, marked with light brown, in a nest made of sticks and branches built in a tree, shrub, on the ground, or on top of a utility pole. Both parents incubate eggs for about 30 days.

Foraging and Feeding

Swainson's Hawk: Diet consists of insects, small mammals and birds, and occasional reptiles and amphibians.

Vocalization

Swainson's Hawk: Call is a thin, plaintive, down-slurred "kreeeeeeer."

Similar Species

Swainson's Hawk: Dark morph Rough-legged, Ferruginous, Broad-winged, Short-tailed, and Red-tailed hawks lack pale undertail coverts.

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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.

Swainson's Hawk

Swainson's Hawk: Large hawk, dark brown upperparts, white throat, rufous upper breast, pale buff underparts. Tail is gray with faint bars, dark terminal band, and white trailing edge. Yellow legs, feet. Alternates series of powerful deep wing beats with long glides. Soars on thermals and updrafts.

● Song: "kr-e-e-eeeeeer"

● Foraging & Feeding: Swainson's Hawk: Diet consists of insects, small mammals and birds, and occasional reptiles and amphibians.

● Breeding & nesting: Swainson's Hawk: Lays two to four white to light blue green eggs, marked with light brown, in a nest made of sticks and branches built in a tree, shrub, on the ground, or on top of a utility pole. Both parents incubate eggs for about 30 days.

● Similar species: Swainson's Hawk: Dark morph Rough-legged, Ferruginous, Broad-winged, Short-tailed, and Red-tailed hawks lack pale undertail coverts.

Flight Pattern

Soars on thermals., Alternates series of powerful deep wing beats with long glides.

● Range & Habitat: Swainson's Hawk: Breeds on the western plains of North America and southwest Canada from Texas to the Yukon. In the winter, most fly south to the pampas of Argentina, a distance of more than 5,000 miles. Preferred habitats include prairies, plains, and other wide-open ranges with minimal tree cover; commonly seen perched on poles or fence posts.

^BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester

^PopulationVery common to common

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight32 Ounces

Underparts

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

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

Terminal band

Refers to the contrasting stripe at the tip of the tail.

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

Swainson's Hawk

Breeding Location:

Breeding Type:

Breeding Population:

Egg Color:

Number of Eggs:

Incubation Days:

Egg Incubator:

Nest Material:

Migration:

Recommended Products:

General

Range and Habitat

Breeding and Nesting

Foraging and Feeding

Vocalization

Similar Species

Swainson's Hawk

Flight Pattern