January Raptor – Ferruginous Hawk

 

Adult Ferruginous Hawk. Photograph by Neil Paprocki.

Well I couldn’t stay away for too long.

I gave up on the idea of continuing the 2013 52-week project into 2014 as it would have been too big of a commitment, but I wanted to do something in 2014. Instead of posting a bird photograph every week, I’ve decided to post my best raptor picture at the end of each month.

January 2014 features an adult Ferruginous Hawk (Buteo regalis), the largest hawk in North America. This individual can be identified as an adult based on its ‘rusty leggings’ and upper-wing coverts, which are just barely visible on the top-side of the bird’s left wing. Juveniles generally lack the ‘rusty leggings’ of adults, are much whiter underneath, and have less rufous in the upper-wing coverts.

Below is a photograph of a juvenile Ferruginous Hawk for comparison.

Juvenile Ferruginous Hawk. Photograph by Neil Paprocki.

Ferruginous Hawks are an uncommon open-country hawk whose range is mostly confined to western North America. While they are a species of Least Concern in the United States, they are considered Endangered in Canada.