BRIAN PORTER
Did You Know?
- Rough-legged Hawks are one of three hawk species in the United States with feathers all the way to their toes, an adaptation for life in cold climates.
- As with most arctic birds of prey, productivity is closely tied to prey. In years with high populations of lemmings and other prey, more eggs are produced and more chicks survive to fledge. In low prey years, they may not breed.
- Their plumage colors range from light to dark. The male, female, and juvenile birds have slightly different plumage patterns.
How The Peregrine Fund is Helping
Though The Peregrine Fund doesn't work directly with Rough-legged Hawks, our efforts in scientific research, habitat conservation, education, and community development help conserve raptors on a global scale. We also supply literature to researchers from our avian research library, which helps scientists around the world gather and share important information on raptor conservation.
Where They Live
Rough-legged Hawks spend summers in the northern reaches of Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia, Russia and other arctic and subarctic regions. In the winter, they migrate southward across the United States, northern Mexico, and central Europe and Asia. This species prefers areas of open habitats like tundra, taiga, prairies, marshes, and even human altered habitats such as pasturelands.
Why They Need our Help
Currently, they are widespread and common throughout their range. While they are considered a species of Least Concern, they do face certain threats including shooting by people, collision with vehicles and power lines, and loss of habitat.
What They Eat
Lemmings and voles make up the bulk of their diet, but they also hunt other small mammals and birds. They hunt during the day and sometimes at dusk and dawn, pursuing prey from a perched or hovering position.
Nest, Eggs and Young
Stick nests are built high on cliffs, rocky outcrops, riverbanks on a protected ledge with a good vantage, or, more rarely, trees. The female lays 2-7 white eggs with brown markings; the number of eggs depends on the availability of prey. The eggs are incubated for 28-31 days and the young fledge 5-6 weeks later. They reach adulthood in 2 years.
Rough-legged Hawk and the World Center for Birds of Prey
The World Center for Birds of Prey offers fun ways to learn about birds of prey. Interactive activities, tours, interesting videos and a children's room with activities from coloring sheets to quizzes to costumes await you on your visit. Though we don't have any Rough-legged Hawks on our Avian Ambassadors team, you can meet a few live hawks up close including a Red-tailed Hawk and a Swainson's Hawk. There is also a touch table with owl feathers and other natural objects available for exploration.
Research Resources
Bechard, M. J., T. R. Swem, J. Orta, P. F. D. Boesman, E. F. J. Garcia, and J. S. Marks (2020). Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.rolhaw.01
Rough-legged Hawk in Global Raptor Information Network
Idaho Fish and Game Non-game Leaflet #4 “Idaho’s Birds of Prey, Part 1: Eagles, Falcons, Hawks, Osprey, Vulture” 1987.
