Swainson's Hawk
Swainson's HawkSwainson's HawkSwainson's HawkSwainson's Hawk

Swainson's Hawk

Buteo swainsoni

Least ConcernNear ThreatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically Endangered
Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
at Saguaro National Park
338 Verified sightings at Saguaro National Park From 2019 to 2026
5,150 Verified sightings across all 72 parks From 2019 to 2026
April Best month highest sighting rate
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted during daytime hours (6am–6pm)

About the Swainson's Hawk

Swainson's hawk (Buteo swainsoni) is a large bird species in the Accipitriformes order. This species was named after William Swainson, a British naturalist. It is colloquially known as the grasshopper hawk or locust hawk, as it is very fond of Acrididae (locusts and grasshoppers) and will voraciously eat these insects whenever they are available.

Their breeding habitat is prairie and dry grasslands in western North America. They build a stick nest in a tree or shrub or on a cliff edge. This species is a long-distance migrant, wintering in Argentina; it has been recorded as a vagrant in neighboring Chile, in the island countries of the Dominican Republic, and Trinidad and Tobago, and in Norway.

This species or its immediate predecessor is the ancestor of the Galápagos hawk, as demonstrated by recent research. Then later diverged from the mainland birds perhaps 300,000 years ago, a very short time in evolution. Swainson's hawk is a raptor and a medium-sized member of the genus Buteo. It broadly overlaps in size with the red-tailed hawk (B. jamaicensis), a related species found as a breeding resident almost throughout North America. Swainson's hawk is on average a little... Wikipedia →

Closest Relatives at Saguaro National Park

Red-tailed Hawk
LC Endemic

Red-tailed Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Buteo jamaicensis

Daily sighting probability ~30% · Possible
Red-shouldered Hawk
LC

Red-shouldered Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Buteo lineatus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Gray-lined Hawk
LC

Gray-lined Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Buteo nitidus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Zone-tailed Hawk
LC

Zone-tailed Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Buteo albonotatus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Broad-winged Hawk
LC

Broad-winged Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Buteo platypterus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Short-tailed Hawk
LC

Short-tailed Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Buteo brachyurus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Ferruginous Hawk
LC

Ferruginous Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Buteo regalis

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data
Bald Eagle
LC

Bald Eagle

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Harris' Hawk
LC

Harris' Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Parabuteo unicinctus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Hen Harrier
LC

Hen Harrier

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Circus cyaneus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
Sharp-shinned Hawk
LC Endemic

Sharp-shinned Hawk

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Accipiter striatus

Daily sighting probability <5% · Rare
White-tailed Kite
LC

White-tailed Kite

☀️ Diurnal Bird

Elanus leucurus

Daily sighting probability Insufficient data

Global Distribution

Where this species is recorded worldwide. Restricted to human observations from 2019 onwards — the same kind of record and the same period the probabilities on this page are built from, so collar-tracking studies, camera-trap arrays and museum specimens are excluded. Around Santa Rosa that removes 5,924 GPS fixes from a handful of tagged jaguars.

where this species is recorded (GBIF density — it tracks where observers go, not how likely a sighting is)  ·  parks where it occurs — tap a pin for the sighting probability there

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 El Palmar National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
~20%
2 Badlands National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
3 Yellowstone National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
4 El Triunfo 🇲🇽 Mexico
~10%
5 Grand Teton National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
6 San Lorenzo Protected Forest 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
7 Soberanía National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
8 Darién National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
~10%
9 Big Bend National Park 🇺🇸 United States
~10%
10 Palo Verde National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
~10%
11 Parque Natural Metropolitano 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
12 Gandoca-Manzanillo Wildlife Refuge 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
13 Cahuita National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
14 La Amistad International Park (Panama) 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
15 Grand Canyon National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
16 Everglades National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
17 Bastimentos Island National Marine Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
18 Chagres National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
19 Guadalupe Mountains National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
20 Santa Rosa National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
21 Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
22 Los Quetzales National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
23 Death Valley National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
24 Joshua Tree National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
25 Rocky Mountain National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
26 Tortuguero National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
27 Braulio Carrillo National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
28 Elk Island National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
29 Volcán Barú National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
<5%
30 Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
31 Big Cypress National Preserve 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
32 Tapantí-Macizo de la Muerte National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
33 Chirripó National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
34 Tenorio Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
35 Saguaro National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
36 Carara National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
37 Iberá National Park 🇦🇷 Argentina
<5%
38 Los Nevados National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
39 Cañón del Sumidero National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
<5%
40 Zion National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
41 Sierra de la Macarena National Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
42 Glacier National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
43 Arenal Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
44 Banff National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
45 Pacific Rim National Park Reserve 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
46 Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
<5%
47 Farallones de Cali National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
<5%
48 Yosemite National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
49 Channel Islands National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
50 Great Bear Rainforest 🇨🇦 Canada
<5%
51 Olympic National Park 🇺🇸 United States
<5%
52 Celaque National Park 🇭🇳 Honduras
Insufficient data
53 Kluane National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
Insufficient data
54 Coiba National Park 🇵🇦 Panama
Insufficient data
55 Cabo Pulmo National Park 🇲🇽 Mexico
Insufficient data
56 Riding Mountain National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
Insufficient data
57 Poás Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
58 Irazú Volcano National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
59 Manuel Antonio National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
60 Cabo Blanco Absolute Nature Reserve 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
61 Chingaza National Natural Park 🇨🇴 Colombia
Insufficient data
62 El Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve 🇲🇽 Mexico
Insufficient data
63 Rincón de la Vieja National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
64 Jasper National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
Insufficient data
65 Masaya Volcano National Park 🇳🇮 Nicaragua
Insufficient data
66 Marino Ballena National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
67 Podocarpus National Park 🇪🇨 Ecuador
Insufficient data
68 Tijuca National Park 🇧🇷 Brazil
Insufficient data
69 Piedras Blancas National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
70 Corcovado National Park 🇨🇷 Costa Rica
Insufficient data
71 Denali National Park 🇺🇸 United States
Insufficient data
72 Point Pelee National Park 🇨🇦 Canada
Insufficient data

Quick answers

What are the chances of seeing a Swainson's Hawk in Saguaro National Park?

Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Swainson's Hawk sighting in Saguaro National Park, based on 338 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data.

When is the best time to see Swainson's Hawk in Saguaro National Park?

April has the highest sighting rate for Swainson's Hawk in Saguaro National Park in our monthly data.

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