Ferruginous Hawk

About the Ferruginous Hawk

The ferruginous hawk (Buteo regalis) 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 (B. lagopus).

The generic name buteo is Latin for 'buzzard'. The specific epithet regalis is Latin for 'royal' (from rex, regis, 'king'). The common name 'ferruginous' means 'rust-colored' or 'reddish-brown'. This species is a large, broad-winged hawk of the open, arid grasslands, prairie and bush steppe country; it is endemic to the interior parts of North America. It is used as a falconry bird in its native ranges.

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... Wikipedia →