Family: Accipitridae, Hawks and Eagles view all from this family

Description 22 1/2 -25" (57-64 cm). W. 4' 8" (1.4 m). A large hawk. Light-phase adult rufous above, mainly whitish below, with rufous "wrist" patch and leg feathers, and black primary tips. In rare dark phase, deep rufous above and below, tail whitish. Legs and feet feathered down to talons. Immatures resemble light-phase adults but with few or no rufous markings.

Habitat Prairies, brushy open country, badlands.

Nesting 3-5 white eggs, blotched or spotted with brown, in a nest of roots, sticks, sagebrush, cow dung, or even old cattle bones, placed in a tree or bush, or on a rocky hillside.

Range Breeds from Canadian prairie provinces south to eastern Oregon, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and western Oklahoma. Winters in southern half of breeding range and southwestern states from central California to southwestern Texas into Mexico.

Voice   A loud descending kree-e-ah.

Discussion The clutch of three to five eggs is large for a Buteo hawk and may result from a fluctuating food supply. Ferruginous Hawks, which feed mainly on prairie dogs and ground squirrels, lay more eggs when prey abounds, fewer eggs in years when rodent populations decrease. They also take grasshoppers, birds, and lizards.