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Profiles
Rough-legged Hawk
(Buteo lagopus)
Photo Credit: Ted Swem, Fairbanks, AK
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Rough-legged Hawks are found world-wide over
much of the northern hemisphere. They nest in the Arctic
and sub-Arctic and winter southward to about 40E N. Lati-tude.
They often congregate in open country near abun-dant
sources of small rodents. This hawk is regularly seen
hovering over marshes or prairies until it plunges down-ward
to capture its prey. This habit is necessary because
its choice of habitat often lacks high perches. They will
use fence posts and telephone poles when available.
Rough-legs feed primarily on voles and other small mam-mals,
which also benefits farmers. The species is named
for an unusual feature in hawks: legs that are fully feath-ered
down to the toes.
Description
Rough-legged Hawks are rather large hawks with
plumages that can vary from light to dark, as well as vary
with age and sex. Some birds have light chests and dark
bellies, while in others the pattern is reversed. In dark
birds, the entire body may be a dark chocolate brown or
nearly black with a pale base to the outer primaries and
tail. Adult males usually have 3-5 dark bars on the tail,
while the adult females usually have one or two; the band
nearest the tip is the widest. Immatures usually show a
pale area at the base to the upper side of their tails in the
lighter phases and a pale or white area above and below on
the tails of dark-phase birds. Even the downy chicks can
vary from nearly all white to a dark gray. Females average
about 25% heavier than the males of the same age, al-though
there is much individual variation. The hawk is
usually silent away from the nesting grounds, where its call
may sound like high-pressure steam escaping or a catlike
whistle.
Four page factsheet:
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