The Ferruginous Hawk is the largest buteo in North America. With its puffed chest and stern eyes, it looks every bit the classic hunter that it is. As the name suggests, the adult is brown above with rusty streaks and white below. In flight, they look very similar to the Red-tailed Hawk.
Rusty leggings form a noticeable 'V' against the whitish underparts.
Life History Rodents, cottontails and jackrabbits are the main fare of the Ferruginous Hawk, but they also will eat bats, bullsnakes, lizards and meadowlarks. They tend to hunt in the early morning and late afternoon hours. This hawk prefers to nest in tall trees, but they are hardly limited to them. Cliffs and pinnacles are also likely sites for their nests of sticks, twigs and bones. The nests often are reused year after year so they usually are quite large with debris accumulation.