Rough-legged Hawk

Rough-legged Hawk, adult female light-morph in flight.

About the photographs

About the map

Play sound from this species

Menu

1. Description
2. Sound
3. Conservation Status
4. Other Names
5. Cool Facts
6. Full detailed species account

A hawk of the North, the Rough-legged Hawk breeds in Arctic tundra and taiga regions around the northern hemisphere. Both dark and light forms are common, with many birds intermediate between the extremes.

Description

• Large hawk.
• Wings long and broad.
• Flight feathers pale, with dark trailing edge to wings.
• Black marks at wrists.
• Tail broad, with white at base and broad dark tip.
• Commonly with pale, streaked chest and broad dark belly.
• May be all dark, but still with pale wing feathers and white at base of tail.

• Size: 47-52 cm (19-20 in)
• Wingspan: 132-138 cm (52-54 in)
• Weight: 715-1400 g (25.24-49.42 ounces)

Sex Differences

Male light morph has some dark barring on otherwise pale wing feathers, narrow dark bands near base of tail, and belly with variable amount of dark mottling. Female has cleaner white wing feathers, only one or two dark bands on tail (large one near tip), a nearly completely dark belly, and a browner back. Dark morphs similar, but female is browner. Some birds have mixed plumage patterns of opposite sex.

Sound

Call a drawn-out, downward "kaaaar."

Conservation Status

No evidence of any change in North American breeding populations.

Other Names

Buse pattue (French)
Ratonero calzado (Spanish)

Cool Facts

• The nest of the Rough-legged Hawk sometimes contains the bones of caribou along with sticks.
• The name "Rough-legged" Hawk refers to the feathered legs. The Rough-legged Hawk, the Ferruginous Hawk, and the Golden Eagle are the only American hawks to have legs feathered all the way to the toes.

Sources used to construct this page:

Bechard, M. J., and T. R. Swem. 2002. Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus). In The Birds of North America, No. 641 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.