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Home > Coniferous Forest Animals > Rough-Legged Hawk

Rough-Legged Hawk

Rough-legged hawk, formerly called the rough-legged falcon, is a moderately large, migratory bird of prey that spends the summer in the Arctic as well as the Subarctic regions, moving south to avoid harsh winters. As compared to its Buteo cousins, including the ferruginous hawk and the red-tailed hawk, the rough-legged raptors can be identified by their smaller bills, broader wings with wide wingtips, and a longer tail.

Rough Legged Hawk

Rough Legged Hawk

Scientific Classification

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Aves
Order Falconiformes or Accipitriformes
Family Accipitridae
Genus Buteo
Scientific Name Buteo lagopus
Rough Legged Hawks

Rough Legged Hawks

Quick Information

Other Names Rough-legged buzzard, Roughleg, Ratonero calzado (Spanish), Buse pattue (French)
Size 18-24 inches (46-60 cm)
Wingspan 13-17 inches (33-43 cm)
Weight 1.32-3.66 lb (600-1,660 g)
Color Two forms are seen – a dark morph rough-legged hawk is dark brown with light trailing edges underneath its wings; a light morph bird has dark blotches at the bend of its wing and white under-wings; female birds show light-colored heads with dark patches at the underparts while the males have a more mottled pattern
Distribution Tundra and taiga regions of Eurasia and North America in summer; North American individuals move into central, northeast, and western United States and southern Canada while the Eurasian roughlegs move to Asia and southern Europe
Habitat Agricultural regions, plains, marshlands, open fields, and prairies in winter; boreal forests, treeless tundra and alpine regions
Sound/Song Loud and soft whistles with a descending pitch; has a long, drawn-out call; nesting adults produce a cat-like mew and use it as an alarm call repeating it every 30 seconds or so; while courtship uses a low-pitched whistle, which changes into a hissing sound
Lifespan Over 18 years
Diet Rodents including voles, mice, shrews, and lemmings; medium-sized mammals such as pocket gophers, young hares, and arctic ground squirrels; birds such as Lapland Longspurs, short-eared owls, shorebirds, waterfowl, ptarmigan, American tree sparrow, and snow buntings; occasionally steals food from other birds of prey or eats carrion
Adaptations Its legs are feathered to its toes, which help in keeping warm in the very cold arctic range; its superb eyesight helps to spot prey from a great height and capture it with high precision
Size of Clutch 1 to 7 eggs
Egg Size Length: 5.3-6 cm

Width: 4.2-4.8 cm

Number of Broods Single brood a year
Incubation Period 31 to 37 days
Predation and Competition Eggs and nestlings are preyed upon by wolverines, brown bears, arctic foxes, great horned owls, snowy owls, golden eagles, and falcons
IUCN Conservation Status Least Concern
Rough Legged Hawk Pictures

Rough Legged Hawk Pictures

Behavior

The rough-legged hawks are mostly crepuscular, which means they are active at dawn and dusk. However, some of these keen hunters are also spotted during the day. These birds are often seen perched alone in trees, on telephone poles and fence posts, or soaring in the sky with a smooth continuous motion and scanning a grassy region or an open field for prey. Once they spot the prey, the hawks circle above several times before pouncing on it and striking it with their talons. They are quite territorial and do not usually form flocks, roosting alone at night.

Rough Legged Hawk Perched

Rough Legged Hawk Perched

Rough Legged Hawk Dark Phase

Rough Legged Hawk Dark Phase

Mating and Reproduction

A rough-legged hawk has a monogamous mating system. It migrates alone and finds its partner after reaching its breeding range. Courtship displays are performed during the late winter when the flying conditions slightly improve. A male hawk flies aloft and makes a whistling call until a female is attracted. The males are also known to make a “sky dance” that involves soaring high up into the air, sudden diving, and stalling in midair. Moreover, a male engages in conflicts with rival male hawks in order to defend its breeding territory as well as its partner.

Rough Legged Hawk Eggs and Baby

Rough Legged Hawk Eggs and Baby

These birds generally breed during April-June but in few cases breeding has also occurred in July. The female rough-legged hawks build nests on rocky reefs and cliffs using materials such as molted feathers, twigs, and grass, which are mostly carried by the males. Nests are quite large with a height of 9.8-23.6 inches and diameter of 24-35 inches, taking 3-4 weeks to build.

Rough Legged Hawk in Flight

Rough Legged Hawk Light Phase

Rough Legged Hawk Light Phase

Life Cycle

Once the eggs hatch, the female remains with the hatchlings and feeds them food that is brought by the male. The juvenile birds are ready for their first flight at 4-6 weeks after hatching. However, the fledglings are fed by their parents for another 2-4 weeks, and they become fully independent at 55-70 days old. Both the male and female birds reach sexual maturity at 2-3 years.

Rough Legged Hawk Photos

Rough Legged Hawk Photos

Rough Legged Hawk Flying

Rough Legged Hawk Flying

Interesting Facts

  • This American raptor is named “rough-legged hawk” for the extensive feathering on its legs. In fact, it is one of the few hawk species in America to have feathers on its toes.
  • In addition to other materials, these birds may construct their nests with caribou bones.
  • The rough-legged hawk nestlings have large food requirements. Between hatching and fledging, a group of two young birds needs 26 lbs of food to support their rapid growth.

References

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rough-legged_buzzard
  2. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rough-legged_Hawk/id
  3. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/rough-legged-hawk
  4. https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/rough-legged-buzzard/
  5. http://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Buteo_lagopus/

Published on March 14th 2016 by admin under Coniferous Forest Animals.
Article was last reviewed on 2nd December 2022.

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