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Scientific name:
Buteo lagopus |
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Family name:
Accipitridae
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Are they endangered?
No, it is not endangered worldwide. (ICUN Redlist:
Least concern.) |
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What are their
past/present problems?
Man is the main enemy of Rough-legged Hawks. We are
finding oil in the arctic area and some of the
Rough-legged Hawk’s habitat is lost when they start
drilling and building pipelines to get the oil out.
Sometimes hunters are trapping or shooting these birds.
In some areas, farmers are selling their land for
housing developments. This takes away hawk habitats,
too. |
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What do they look
like?
There are light and dark kinds of Rough-legged hawks.
The light kind has white heads and bellies and the dark
kind have brown heads and bellies. The dark kind are
mostly dark brown all over with a tail that has gray and
white tail. The light kind [or light morph] has a lot
of brown and white streaks on its body and a tail that
is white with a dark stripe on it. |
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How big are they?
They are 18-24 inches long. If you stretched them out,
their wings would be about 4 feet wide. |
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How many eggs do they
lay? The
female lays 5 to 7 white eggs when they get enough
food. They lay less eggs when they are having problems
finding enough food. The eggs hatch in about a month.
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How long do the
fledglings stay in the nest?
They like to make their nests in places that are hard
for humans to reach, like high cliffs. The nests are
made out of sticks and they stay in the same nest for a
few years. The birds might have a second nest to use,
too. The young birds (fledglings) stay in the nest for
about 40 days. |
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When do they hunt?
These birds hunt during the day. (diurnal) |
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What do they eat?
Rough-legged Hawks really like to eat rodents (MICE!) but they
will eat insects, too.
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Where do they live?
They are in Europe, Asia, and the United States. |
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What kind of place do
they like to live in?
They like wetlands, marshes, and open areas. They like tundra
and arctic areas. |
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Interesting facts:
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Many raptors hunt from high places, swooping down on
their prey. The Rough-legged Hawk likes to stand on
dirt piles or even stand on the ground to catch its
prey. They will fly and hunt, too. |
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Rough-legged Hawks will fly down--feet first--to grab
prey. |
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They have very small feet and beaks. This helps them to
stay warm in the frigid north. |
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This bird may be called a rough-legged buzzard. |
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The feathers on their legs help their legs stay warm. |
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