Please click button for larger picture. Summer records exist for almost all counties. Suitable habitat includes unfragmented, mature floodplain forests along major rivers, including the Mississippi River, St. Croix River north to St. Croix Falls, the Chippewa River to Chippewa Falls, the Wisconsin River to Wausau, and the Wolf River to Shawano. A map outlining Pre-1977 and 1997 to Present Distribution is available.
Underparts are pale rust with horizontal barring.
Immatures are brown above, clear pale chest, and vertically streaked brown breast and belly. Breeding habitat includes bottomland hardwoods, mesic deciduous or mixed deciduous-conifer forests, and wooded margins of marshes. Diet includes medium sized snakes, amphibians and reptiles, small mammals, small birds, crayfish, and insects. Typically hunt alone, diving from a perch located near water. Young fledge at 45 days old.