Ferruginous Hawk

Ferrugineous rough-leg

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Accipitriformes

Family

Accipitridae

Genus

Buteo

SPECIES

Buteo regalis

Population size

Unknown

Life Span

20 yrs

TOP SPEED

160 km/h

WEIGHT

980-2030 g

LENGTH

50-66 cm

WINGSPAN

134-152 cm

Ferruginous hawks are the biggest hawks in North America. Females may be as much as one-and-a half times larger than males. Adults are a rusty color on their shoulders and back and down to their legs. The belly is whitish, spotted with reddish brown. The leg feathers make a V shape against the hawk's belly, as seen when they are flying. When perching, the gray tips of the long, broad wings can reach the tip of their tail, which is white, gray and rust colored. Young Ferruginous hawks don’t have rust colored legs and there is less color on their backs.

Diurnal

Carnivore

Soaring birds

Migratory

Monogamy

Solitary

Distribution

The Ferruginous hawk occurs in western and central part of North America. Its range stretches from the southern Canada to the south USA and north Mexico. Its preferred habitat includes lowlands, plateaus, plains, valleys, agricultural land rolling hills of grass land, ranches, and the desert edges.

Geography

Continents

North America

Countries

Canada, Mexico, United States

Biome

Desert and Xeric Shrublands

Temperate grasslands

Temperate coniferous forest

Climate zones

Temperate

Cold

Arid

Habits and Lifestyle

The Ferruginous hawk hunts during the day. It favors a solitary lifestyle, pairing up only during the breeding season. They generally build nests on cliffs and in isolated trees. Their nests make use of wide variety of structures, including utility structures, abandoned farm machinery, farm buildings, artificial platforms and haystacks. Each day they hunt and patrol their territory. Ferruginous hawks make a 'kaah-kaah' call when communicating with other hawks. They line their large stick nests with shredded bark, grass or dried cow dung. The hawk often rests on the ground but is wary of humans and is secretive.

Group name

aerie, boil, cast, kettle, lease

Lifestyle

Soaring birds, Migratory

Diet and Nutrition

Ferruginous hawks are carnivorous, eating ground squirrels, mice jackrabbits, birds, amphibians and reptiles. Sometimes they will eat meadowlarks, snakes, lizards, grasshoppers, and crickets.

Diet Carnivore

Mating Habits

MATING BEHAVIOR

Monogamy

REPRODUCTION SEASON

March-June

INCUBATION PERIOD

35 days

INDEPENDENT AGE

40-50 days

FEMALE NAME

hen

MALE NAME

tiercel

BABY NAME

eyas

BABY CARRYING

4 eggs

Ferruginous hawks are monogamous, keeping the same mate for their entire life. Males and females are seen together only during the breeding season, between March and June. Having chosen a suitable place for their nest, males bring in the building material, while females do most of the construction. They copulate during the nest-building period and the female will lay up to 4 eggs with two days between laying. The parents work in shifts, spending equal amounts of time in incubating the eggs. After up to 35 days, the eggs hatch and the nestlings depend for the next 40-50 days on their parent until they are fully developed. They are able to breed at two years old.

Population Trend

Increasing

POPULATION STATUS

Least concern (LC)

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Population

Population threats

Their major threat is human occupation, as this leads to loss of nesting sites. Their main breeding habitat is constantly disturbed by farmers, who will occasionally take their chickens. This disrupts breeding patterns and the size of clutches. When several pairs are nesting close to each other, this causes constant conflict.

Population number

No recent estimate of population size is available for Ferruginous hawk. IUCN lists them as Least Concern (LC), their population flourishing over a huge range of North America. Indeed, the population has increased over the last 40 years by 155%. In 1984, the population estimate for North America was between 3,000 and 4,000 pairs, and in 1987, it was 14,000 individuals.

Ecological niche

Ferruginous hawks help to control the rodent population.

Fun Facts for Kids

Hawks have excellent eyesight, 8 times better than human eyesight. They can locate prey from 100 feet away.
Hawks can see different colors.
During hunting, hawks will dive at 150 miles per hour. They are can catch a prey in the air as well as on the ground.
Some species of hawks can migrate, traveling over a thousand mile from nesting areas to feeding areas.
A breathtaking dance in the air occurs before mating, the male performing a series of acrobatics that can go on for 10 minutes.

Ferruginous Hawk

Photos with Ferruginous Hawk

Distribution

Geography

Biome

Climate zones

Habits and Lifestyle

Diet and Nutrition

Mating Habits

Population

Population threats

Population number

Ecological niche

Fun Facts for Kids

References

More Fascinating Animals to Learn About

Ferruginous Hawk

Photos with Ferruginous Hawk

Distribution

Geography

Biome

Climate zones

Habits and Lifestyle

Diet and Nutrition

Mating Habits

Population

Population threats

Population number

Ecological niche

Fun Facts for Kids

References

Related Animals

More Fascinating Animals to Learn About