Breeding Location:
Open landscapes, Grassland with scattered trees, Desert
Breeding Type:
Monogamous, Solitary nester
Breeding Population:
Very common to common
Egg Color:
White to light blue green with light brown marks
Number of Eggs:
2 - 4
Incubation Days:
28 - 35
Egg Incubator:
Both sexes
Nest Material:
Lined with inner bark, fresh leaves, flower clusters, down and feathers.
Migration:
Migratory
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Overview
Swainson's Hawk: Large hawk, dark brown upperparts, white throat, rufous upper breast, pale buff underparts. Tail is gray with faint bars, dark terminal band, and white trailing edge. Yellow legs, feet. Alternates series of powerful deep wing beats with long glides. Soars on thermals and updrafts.
Range and Habitat
Swainson's Hawk: Breeds on the western plains of North America and southwest Canada from Texas to the Yukon. In the winter, most fly south to the pampas of Argentina, a distance of more than 5,000 miles. Preferred habitats include prairies, plains, and other wide-open ranges with minimal tree cover; commonly seen perched on poles or fence posts.
Breeding and Nesting
Swainson's Hawk: Lays two to four white to light blue green eggs, marked with light brown, in a nest made of sticks and branches built in a tree, shrub, on the ground, or on top of a utility pole. Both parents incubate eggs for about 30 days.
Foraging and Feeding
Swainson's Hawk: Diet consists of insects, small mammals and birds, and occasional reptiles and amphibians.
Readily Eats
Vocalization
Swainson's Hawk: Call is a thin, plaintive, down-slurred "kreeeeeeer."
Similar Species
Swainson's Hawk: Dark morph Rough-legged, Ferruginous, Broad-winged, Short-tailed, and Red-tailed hawks lack pale undertail coverts.
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