Ferruginous Hawk

The Ferruginous Hawk is the largest of North America's buteos, a powerful, pale-headed hawk of open grassland and shrub-steppe across the western interior. Its name comes from the rich rust-red ("ferruginous") coloring on its legs and shoulders, contrasting with a pale head, pale underparts, and unmarked white to lightly barred belly in the common light morph.

A less common dark morph occurs as well, appearing rich chocolate-brown overall. In flight, the species' large size, broad wings, and pale, rosy tail help distinguish it from other prairie buteos.

Key field marks

• Largest North American buteo, with notably broad wings
• Pale head and mostly white underparts (light morph)
• Rusty (ferruginous) coloring on the legs and shoulders
• Pale, unbanded rosy-gray tail
• Legs feathered down to the toes, forming a dark "V" against the pale belly when seen from below

Similar species

Rough-legged Hawk is smaller, with a distinct dark belly band and dark carpal patches, and lacks the rusty leg/shoulder coloring. Red-tailed Hawk lacks the pale, unmarked belly and rust-colored legs, and has a solid red adult tail rather than pale rosy-gray.

Habitat

A specialist of open, treeless country: native grassland, shrub-steppe, and prairie, often near colonies of ground squirrels or prairie dogs that form its primary prey base.

Range

Breeds across the interior western United States and southwestern Canada, in the Great Plains, Great Basin, and intermountain West. Many populations migrate south for winter into the southwestern U.S. and Mexico, though some remain year-round in milder parts of the breeding range.

Behavior

Ferruginous Hawks often hunt from low perches or the ground itself, watching for prey near burrow entrances, and will also soar or hover over open terrain; they are sensitive to human disturbance near the nest.

Voice

Gives a harsh, descending scream, generally quieter and less vocal away from the nesting territory.

Feeding and nesting

Diet is dominated by burrowing mammals such as ground squirrels, prairie dogs, and jackrabbits, closely tying its populations to the health of these prey communities. Builds a large stick nest on the ground, on a rock outcrop, in an isolated tree, or increasingly on artificial structures such as power poles, often reused for many years.