Ferruginous Hawk
Buteo regalis
The Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis) is a uncommon kites, old world vultures, eagles, and hawk found in 3 countries, weighing about 1.4 kg. The ferruginous hawk is a large bird of prey and belongs to the broad-winged buteo hawks.
About the Ferruginous Hawk
The ferruginous hawk is a large bird of prey and belongs to the broad-winged buteo hawks. An old colloquial name is ferrugineous rough-leg, due to its similarity to the closely related rough-legged hawk.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
How to identify it
This is the largest of the North American Buteos and is often mistaken for an eagle due to its size, proportions, and behavior. Among all the nearly thirty species of Buteo in the world, only the upland buzzard (B. hemilasius) of Asia averages larger in length and wingspan. The weight of the upland buzzard and ferruginous broadly overlaps and which of these two species is the heaviest in the genus is debatable. As with all birds of prey, the female ferruginous hawk is larger than the male, but there is some overlap between small females and large males in the range of measurements. Voice: The voice is not well-described in literature. Alarm calls consist of kree – a or ke – ah and harsh kaah, kaah calls, the latter resembling some vocalizations of the herring gull. One description referred to the "wavering" alarm call and "breathy" notes, while other authors describe screams similar to those of the red-tailed hawk (B. jamaicensis).
Where it lives
When to see it
Best months: January, February, March, April, May, June, October, November, December, with peak activity in January. It is a variable species across most of its range.
Easily confused with
Quick questions
- How do you identify a Ferruginous Hawk?
- This is the largest of the North American Buteos and is often mistaken for an eagle due to its size, proportions, and behavior. Full identification notes are on this page.
- How big is a Ferruginous Hawk?
- The Ferruginous Hawk is a large sized bird weighing about 1.4 kg.
- Where can you see a Ferruginous Hawk?
- The Ferruginous Hawk occurs in 3 countries, including the United States, Canada and Mexico.
- What birds look similar to a Ferruginous Hawk?
- The Ferruginous Hawk is most easily confused with the Short-tailed Hawk, the Zone-tailed Hawk and the Jackal Buzzard.
- Is the Ferruginous Hawk endangered?
- The Ferruginous Hawk is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List.
Learn the Ferruginous Hawk for real
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