Rough-Legged Hawk

Quick Take

• One hawk species can do something no other hawk can, and the secret lies in how it moves its wings. See the hovering technique →
• Its nest is built from a material most birds would never touch, and it hauls this unusual ingredient all the way from the frozen tundra. Discover the unusual nest materials →
• This hawk regularly steals meals from animals far more powerful than itself, and it gets away with it every time. Explore the kleptoparasitic behavior →
• Its alarm call sounds nothing like a hawk, and hearing it in the wild would likely fool you completely. Hear about the alarm call →

The rough-legged hawk (Buteo lagopus), also known as the rough-legged buzzard, lives on three continents across 50 countries. It inhabits the Arctic tundra during spring and summer and open grasslands and prairies during the winter. This hawk has unusual adaptations, such as feathered feet and rapid wing beats, allowing it to hover in place.

5 Amazing Rough-legged Hawk Facts

• The rough-legged hawk builds its nest using Arctic plants and caribou bones, lining it with feathers and fur.
• Its scientific name, lagopus, is Ancient Greek for “hare” and “foot,” referring to its feathered feet and toes.
• They have loud alarm calls that sound like cats’ “mews.”
• They are the only hawk species that can hover in one spot by rapidly beating their wings.
• Their favorite food is rodents and small birds. They will also steal food from other raptors.

Where to Find the Rough-legged Hawk

Rough-legged hawks live in North America, Europe, and Asia in over 50 countries, including Canada, the United States, France, Germany, and China. They breed in Arctic and Subarctic regions and migrate south for the winter, as far as the Central United States, Southern Europe, and Asia. You can find them as far south as Texas in the United States, and they are typically absent from the Southeast. Their habitats include tundra and Arctic coasts during the breeding season. They spend their winters in open country like grasslands, coastal prairies, marshes, farmlands, and dunes.

Nests

Males choose exposed cliffsides, high trees, or buildings for their nest sites. Males collect the materials, while females spend three to four weeks building a bulky platform consisting of Arctic plants and caribou bones. She lines the interior with grass, feathers, and fur. This species may reuse the same nest for several breeding seasons.

Classification and Scientific Name

The rough-legged hawk (Buteo lagopus) is from the Accipitriformes order in the Accipitridae family, encompassing small to large birds with strongly hooked bills. The Buteo genus comprises the hawks in North America and the buzzards in Europe. Its specific name, lagopus, is Ancient Greek for “hare” and “foot,” reflecting its feathered feet. 

There are four recognized subspecies of rough-legged hawks:

• B. l. lagopus: Northern Europe and Asia
• B. l. sanctijohannis: North America
• B. l. kamtchatkensis: North Siberia to Pacific North America
• B. l. menzbieri: Northeastern and eastern Siberia

Size, Appearance, & Behavior

The rough-legged hawk is a relatively large bird of prey, measuring 18.5 to 24 inches long and weighing 1.32 to 3.66 pounds, with a 47 to 60-inch wingspan. They have long, narrow wings (compared to other hawks), which create a slight M-shape in flight. These hawks are dark brown with bold patterns, and their tails are dark at the tips and pale at the base. They occur in light and dark morphs, similar to other hawk species. Their evolutionary adaptations include small talons for catching their prey of choice and feathered feet and toes to withstand cold Arctic temperatures. 

This species is primarily solitary but forms monogamous pair bonds during the breeding season and may migrate alone or with small groups. Rough-legged hawks have an unusual feature: they beat their wings rapidly and hover over one spot while hunting. However, their exact speed is unknown. Their alarm calls are loud and cat-like, lasting several seconds and repeating. Their typical calls are whistles with a descending scale. Both can be made while perched or in flight.

Migration Pattern and Timing

They are medium-distance migrants who breed in the tundra and boreal forests in the northern regions of North America and Eurasia. Populations in North America migrate to Southern Canada and the Central United States during winter. Those in Eurasia migrate to Southern Europe and Asia.

Diet

The rough-legged hawk is a carnivore and an opportunistic hunter. Small mammals make up 80% or more of their diet.

What Does the Rough-legged Hawk Eat?

Their diet primarily consists of small rodents, such as lemmings, voles, mice, rats, gerbils, shrews, and squirrels. Birds are their second favorite type of prey, mainly passerines like buntings and sparrows. They occasionally prey on larger birds, such as waterfowl and short-eared owls. They may resort to eating larger mammals like jackrabbits and prairie dogs when food is scarce.

Rough-legged hawks are opportunistic and aggressive hunters, often stealing prey from their own species and other raptors. They hunt during the day and either watch prey from a perch before stooping or catch it mid-flight. Unlike most birds of prey, these hawks hover above the ground while searching for food.

Predators, Threats, and Conservation Status

The IUCN lists the rough-legged hawk as LC or “least concern.” Due to its extensive range and very large, stable population, this species does not meet “threatened” status thresholds. However, this species faces several threats. Historically, it was significantly threatened by shooting and trapping, but these are no longer severe hazards. Its other threats include collisions, accidental capture from bear traps, pesticides, and the effects of climate change, like fluctuating weather and increased rainfall. Weather changes can cause unsuccessful reproduction and collapsed nests.

What Eats the Rough-legged Hawk?

Several animals prey on rough-legged hawk nests, such as Arctic foxes, brown bears, wolverines, ravens, skuas, and snowy owls. Adult hawks have very few natural predators but may die in conflicts with other raptors like eagles, falcons, owls, and other hawks. Like other birds of prey, rough-legged hawks are defensive of their territories. They give alarm calls and drive off intruders to protect their nests and territories.

Reproduction, Young, and Molting

Rough-legged hawks reach sexual maturity at two years and form monogamous pair bonds, mating with the same partner for several years, perhaps for life. They begin looking for their nesting territories during the fall, and breeding occurs from April to June. Females lay one to seven eggs and incubate them for 28 to 31 days, while males bring food. The young fledge the nest five to six weeks after hatching, but depend on their parents for food for up to a month after fledging. Their average lifespan is about 2 years, but they can live up to 18 years.

Population

The global rough-legged hawk population is estimated to number 350,000 to 800,000 mature individuals. Its European and North American populations are currently stable and have been since the 1970s. However, groups in some areas may fluctuate depending on the availability of small mammals as a food source.