Ferruginous Hawk
Learn to identify the Ferruginous Hawk by ear. Master the "kree-ah" phrase and tell it apart from similar species.
What the Ferruginous Hawk sounds like
A scratchy scream that slides downhill—kree-e-ah—most often heard when a bird is alarmed. Its rough edge can sound surprisingly gull-like, a bit like an American Herring Gull.
How to tell it apart
Where you'll hear it
Breeds in northern Great Plains and western U.S.; winters in southern U.S. and Mexico.
Open landscapes such as prairies, sagebrush plains, and badlands.
Pairs build or refurbish bulky nests for spring breeding and raise young into summer. Most birds move only short or medium distances, with some southern breeders staying year-round; winter birds may share productive rodent patches.
How to recognize it by sight
A very large, heavy-bodied hawk with long, broad wings. Light morphs have a white head and underparts with variable rusty streaking on the flanks and belly. The legs are covered in rufous feathers (forming "rusty pants"), and the back and shoulders are a rich reddish-brown color.
Similar species
Red-tailed Hawk
A more common, smaller buteo. Light-morph Red-tailed Hawks have a distinctive dark belly band and a reddish tail in adults, whereas light Ferruginous have a white belly (with some rufous streaks on sides) and a pale tail. Red-tails also have dark patagial marks on the leading edge of the underwing, which Ferruginous Hawks lack (Ferruginous have white underwing with rufous wing linings and dark commas at the wrists). Ferruginous Hawks have feathered legs (leg feathers form "pants"), while Red-tails have unfeathered yellow legs. In flight, the Ferruginous's wings are longer and held flatter, and it often appears larger-headed. Voice: Red-tail's scream is higher pitched; Ferruginous's call is slightly lower and rougher.
Rough-legged Hawk
Another hawk with feathered legs, but Rough-legged Hawks are a winter visitor from the arctic, smaller and more slender-winged. Light-morph Rough-legged Hawks show a dark belly patch and carpal (wrist) patches on the underwing, and a tail with multiple dark bands (often a broad subterminal band). They lack the rufous coloration on the shoulders/leggings seen in Ferruginous. Dark-morph Rough-legs are nearly all dark but have light panels near the wingtips; dark Ferruginous are all dark with some white in the tail. Rough-legged Hawks frequently hover while hunting, a behavior Ferruginous Hawks typically do not do.