Sample Lesson: Hawk and Raptor Identification

[Kevin McGowan] Swainson’s Hawk is a bird of the open grasslands of the West. It’s only rarely found east of the Mississippi. The Swainson’s Hawk breeds across Canada, down to the southern US, and it winters in the South American grasslands and the pampas. Because they’re birds of open country, they do a lot of foraging from the air and from perches. This is a common roadside-post hawk in Western North America.

Swainson’s Hawk makes a long, drawn-out, raspy “kree.” Let’s listen. [Call of Swainson’s Hawk.]
Swainson’s Hawks migrate together in huge numbers, with flocks sometimes numbering into the thousands. Here’s a mixed flock of Swainson’s and Broad-winged hawks in a kettle.

This is a medium-sized hawk. It has a stout body and broad wings, but the wings are slightly pointed, usually with one feather longest. Notice there is no secondary bulge. When they soar, they hold their wingtips up a little bit in just a slight dihedral or V-shape. Watch the bird as it soars. You can see that it holds its wingtips slightly up. That’s helpful for distinguishing this bird from Ferruginous or Red-tailed hawks.

Swainson’s Hawk comes in dark and light forms with intermediates. They show big patches of white, not in the flight feathers, but in the wing linings. Also, the flight feathers themselves are evenly dark. All but the darkest of the dark forms still have whitish wing linings. This is a key feature. Note that there is no dark carpal patch.

The tail is light with multiple thin dark bands, one darker and broader near the tail tip. The light form is distinctive, with a dark hood and white throat.

When they’re perched, you can see a lot of variation. The light phase can have a dark hood and mostly white belly. Some individuals have additional markings on the belly, or they can be all dark.

The white chin can be variable as well. In some individuals, it’s restricted to a small patch under the bill, or it can extend down onto the chest. Notice they’ve got very prominent yellow legs, so that distinguishes them from the Rough-legged Hawk and the Ferruginous Hawk.

Juveniles have streaked underparts with large spotting on the breast. They also have very neatly marked back feathers. When you look at the face of these young hawks, you can see that they have a dark mark we call a malar streak or a mustache that comes down the side of their cheek. A number of juvenile hawks show markings here. The Swainson’s Hawk has an unusual pattern. It’s like the malar streak leaks down onto the chest and connects with the chest streaking. The pattern is variable, and juvenile Broad-winged and Gray hawks have this “leaky” malar streak too, but I think it’s most distinctive in juvenile Swainson’s Hawks.