Distinctively long-winged large hawk with pointed wingtips. Usually soars with wings slightly raised (dihedral). Light morph adults have dark flight feathers creating a broad, dark trailing edge to the wing. Also note the brown upper breast, creating a hooded appearance.
Note the distinctive long-winged shape with pointed wingtips—especially pronounced when the bird is gliding with wingtips swept back, giving an M-shape to the wings.
Large hawk with long, relatively slender wings with pointed tips. Typically soars with wings slightly raised (known as "dihedral"), often teetering in the wind.
Dark-morph Swainson's Hawks can vary from reddish-brown to uniform dark brown, but they usually have a rufous tone to the underwing coverts and pale undertail coverts, as shown here.
Dark-morph adults usually have a two-toned appearance from beneath created by paler underwing coverts and darker flight feathers, similar to but less pronounced than the pattern of light-morph adults. Note the long wings with somewhat pointed tips.
Large hawk of open country. Note brown head and breast, with unmarked white belly.
Large hawk with long wings. Head and upper breast are brown, creating a hooded appearance. Tail has narrow dark bands, with a broader dark band at the tip.
Hunts in open country; eats mostly mammals such as ground squirrels on breeding grounds.
Forms large flocks on migration, sometimes with other raptors such as Broad-winged Hawk. Note Swainson's Hawk's relatively long, somewhat pointed wings.
Dark morph birds can range from reddish brown to fully dark brown, but usually have some rufous tones to the plumage. Note long wings.
Dark-morph immatures can be quite variable in degree of darkness, but usually have some buffy streaking on the body and show pale undertail coverts.
Light-morph immatures are mottled brown above, with pale edges to the wing coverts, and have variable dark streaking on the breast. The head is often pale from bleaching.
Young Swainson's Hawks have pale edges to the upperwing coverts creating a scalloped appearance.
Dark-morph juveniles are variable but usually show buffy streaking on the body and often have pale head from bleaching. Note the distinctive long-winged shape.
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Swainson’s Hawks are buteos, meaning they are large hawks with fairly broad wings and short tails. However, Swainson’s Hawks are less hefty than many other buteos. They are slimmer and longer-winged, with their wings typically held in a shallow V when soaring.
Larger than a Cooper’s Hawk; smaller than a Ferruginous Hawk.
between crow and gooseNearly all Swainson’s Hawks breeding in the eastern half of the range (east of the Rocky Mountains) are light in appearance. Darker-plumaged birds are more common in the West, although still in the minority, accounting for upwards of 10 percent of individuals.
Hawks, Eagles, and Kites(Order: Accipitriformes, Family: Accipitridae)
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