Most of the body is dark with a light-colored tail and light areas on the upper and lower surfaces of the wings. Generally, they avoid high elevations, narrow canyons, and interior regions of forests. Trees, utility poles and towers, fence posts, rocky outcrops, cliffs, and the ground are perching substrates used by ferruginous hawks. They also will winter near cultivated fields that have an abundance of pocket gophers. In such areas, the hawks will sometimes roost in groups of up to 24 individuals.
Ferruginous hawks depend on only a few prey species.
In the western states, their diet includes cottontails, black-tailed hares, ground squirrels, and pocket gophers. Some bird species are captured during the breeding season and fed to the nestlings. Occasionally, these hawks hunt while in flight or while hovering, the latter usually used in strong winds. In addition to communally roosting in the winter, the ferruginous hawk is known to hunt communally. The breeding season begins with nest building or refurbishing in March or April.