Rough-legged Hawk Identification

Large hawk with fairly narrow wings. Note the black patches at the wrist and the white tail base with black band at the tip. Males tend to be more mottled on the wings with less of a black belly patch than females.

Large hawk with relatively narrow wings and a long tail. Note black patches at the wrist. Immatures have a lighter head and extensive black belly patch. The tail is white with a dark tip.

Breeds in the Arctic; typically seen wintering in cold, often snowy fields with patchy trees. Perches on slender branches and at the tops of small trees. Flies with easy wingbeats but soars less often than other raptors.

Note light head, mottled brown upperwing, and white tail base with dark band at tip. Juveniles have distinctive white panels in the primaries.

Strongly mottled with buff and reddish-brown above. Males have streaky underparts and barred legs. They usually have less of a distinct black belly band than females.

Bulky hawk of open country and cold climates. Males have darker head and breast than females. Note dark patches at the bend of the wing (wrist) on the underside.

Hunts in open country and often perches on the ground. Note pale head and white base of tail with dark tip.

Dark morph adults have pale flight feathers giving a two-toned appearance to the underwings. They also usually show white bands in the tail.

Often hunts by turning into the wind and flapping to hover in place, while scanning the ground below.

Dark morphs can be fully chocolate-brown except for pale undersides to the flight feathers, which are not visible when perched. The tail often has narrow white bands, but they can be indistinct. Eye darkens with age.

Dark morphs can have variable amounts of mottling on the back, wings, and belly.

Hunts by flying over open country, sometimes hovering into wind. Dark morph is mostly dark brown with contrasting white in the wings and tail.

Males usually have darker heads, a streakier breast, and less of a black belly patch than females. The legs are feathered all the way to the feet, unlike most other hawks.

Large hawk with long wings. Female usually has a light head, pale breast, extensive black belly patch, and a white-based tail with black tip.

Males have streakier, darker breast than females and often have barred flanks.

Feathering extends all the way to the feet, unlike on many other hawks. Males typically have darker chests than females.

Breeds in arctic tundra; usually seen in winter, when it hunts in open country including fields, marshes, prairies, and sagebrush. Perches on telephone poles and on the slender top branches of small trees.