Fun Broad-winged Hawk Facts For Kids

Broad-winged hawks or Buteo platypterus are some of the medium-sized hawks of the genus Buteo found in most parts of eastern North America. There is another name by which these birds of North America are known, which is kettles. They are also known as small hawks or light morphs too because they are the smallest of the broad-winged hawk Buteo genus. Broad-winged hawks are often not very noticeable or easily seen during the breeding season. As they are typically small in comparison to other similar species of hawks, the North American broad-winged hawks are stocky hawks. Their body size starts from 13 to 17 inches (32 to 44 cm) in length and weighing 265 to 560g. Their wingspan ranges from 81 to 100 cm, so they are considered broad wings, although the tail is relatively short, measuring 14.5–19.0 cm. The chestnut barring or horizontal cinnamon pale underside with a dark brown back. Woods, groves, and typical types of deciduous forests, or mixed coniferous-deciduous forests, are some of the habitats chosen by the broad-winged hawk. The color of broad-winged hawks differs across their body parts, their heads are reddish-brown, their underparts are barred, and they have broad black and white bands on their tail. Broad-winged hawk juveniles are a bit different in color, with a lighter brown around the coarse streaking on the underparts, and on the sides of the breast, although the tail is usually narrow banded. Broad-winged hawks favor the habitat in accordance with nesting season or breeding season which specifically varies from dense deciduous or mixed deciduous-coniferous forests. The breeding habitat ranges from the eastern United States and northern parts of North America, and also some birds choose migrate in the winter to different parts of Florida, southern Mexico, and South America.

What type of animal is a Broad-Winged Hawk?

Broad-winged hawks are a type of a bird that is typically found in most parts of Central and South America, and some parts of North America. That's why they are also known as the North American broad hawk.

What class of animal does a Broad-Winged Hawk belong to?

The broad-winged hawk comes under the classification of Aves, the group to which all birds belong.

How many Broad-Winged Hawks are there in the world?

The current global population of these North American birds is said to be somewhere around 1,800,000 individuals. Also, there is significant proof that the number of these birds is declining in time, but there isn't a huge amount of data on them. However, in some parts of North America, broad-winged hawks are considered quite common. They have been classified as of Least Concern by the IUCN. On the other hand, there is one sub-species of winged hawk, known as the Puerto Rican broad-winged hawk, which is considered an endangered species and protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

Where does a Broad-Winged Hawk live?

This rare dark broad-winged hawk lives in mountains, dense deciduous or mixed deciduous-coniferous forests. In order to be close to a good supply of water, they prefer to live near roads, trails, wetlands, and meadows.

What is a Broad-Winged Hawk's habitat?

Talking about the habitat of broad wings they usually prefer to live in a wide range of habitat which includes dense deciduous or mixed deciduous-coniferous forests. Most of the time they spend under the tree canopies, the migration time period is time when they actually change their habitat as they soar along coastlines and mountain ridges.

Who do Broad-Winged Hawks live with?

These birds are very solitary and territorial animals, except at the time of migration. At the time of migration, they usually prefer to fly in very large numbers of flocks which might be up to tens of thousands of individuals.

How long does a Broad-Winged Hawk live?

There was a study conducted to understand the pattern and life longevity of these birds between 1955 and 1979, which conclude that the average expected lifespan of wild broad-winged hawks is 12 years.

How do they reproduce?

Before talking about the reproduction process of the bird, the first thing to know is that broad-winged hawks are strictly monogamous. The breeding season takes place between April and August, raising up to one brood per summer. They reach sexual maturity at about two years old. To attract females, males have to do different kinds of aerial activities as a courtship display, including cartwheels, dives, and other aerial acrobatics. In this process, the birds meet up in mid-air to hook their feet together and spiral down together, after completing the fight with other males for the chance to mate with a female. Whichever male wins gets the chance to mate during that season. Both the male and female help each other to build the nest, with various kinds of sticks and twigs, which takes around two to four weeks. The females prefer to lay eggs in intervals, one to two eggs at first, then a two-day interval, followed by another one or two eggs which go into an incubation period for around 28 to 31 days.

What is their conservation status?

The conservation status of these birds is considered as of the Least Concern by the IUCN. On the other hand, there is one of the similar species of winged hawk known as the Puerto Rican broad-winged hawk, which is considered an endangered species and protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The current global population of these North American birds is said to be somewhat around 1,800,000 individuals. Also, there is significant proof that the number of these birds declining over time, however, there is not a huge amount of data on this.

What do Broad-Winged Hawks look like?

Broad-winged hawks are the smallest winged hawk buteo platypterus. The South American and North American broad-winged hawks are stocky hawks, their body size starts from 13 to 17 inches (32 to 44 cm) in length and weighing 265 to 560 g. Their wing size ranges from 81 to 100 cm, although the tail is relatively short, measuring 14.5–19.0 cm. The colors of broad-winged hawks are slightly depending on which part of the body the feathers are covering. Broad-winged hawks in flight have pointed wingtips that are unique to this species. There is another species known as the rare dark morph of broad-winged hawks which are seen occasionally in some parts of North America. They are entirely dark brown, with a tail similar to typical hawks. There are two types of coloration that can be seen in broad-winged hawks, a dark morph with fewer white areas and a light morph that is paler, sometimes these light morphs of this bird are confused with the red-shouldered hawk. Broad-winged hawk juveniles are a bit different in color with a lighter brown around the coarse streaking on the underparts, and on the sides of the breast, although the tail is usually narrow banded.

How cute are they?

These birds can be termed as cute however, some people may find them a bit scary as hawks are natural predators.

How do they communicate?

There are in total four ways in which broad-winged hawks call or communicate with one another, the most easily heard is a high-pitched whistle that sounds like a 'kee-ee' or 'peeoweee' sound which lasts about two or three seconds. They use this call to communicate among themselves in various situations, such as territorial disputes, social situations, or finding a mate.

How big is a Broad-Winged Hawk?

Talking about how big a broad-winged hawk is, as per their name they have a broad wingspan, but are generally smaller than similar species of hawks.

How fast can a Broad-Winged Hawk fly?

Usually, hawks are known to fly very fast and due to their small size, the broad-winged hawk also can fly quickly, though there is no evidence of exactly what speed they can fly.

How much does a Broad-Winged Hawk weigh?

They weigh in the minimal range of 265 to 560 g. Usually, females weigh more than males.

What are their male and female names of the species?

There is no specific name given to the male and female broad-winged hawks.

What would you call a baby Broad-Winged Hawk?

They are called chicks or hatchlings.

What do they eat?

These birds are carnivorous in nature which also allows them to change their diets according to the season, consisting of the insects, amphibians, reptiles, mammals and birds available at that time. They also love to eat chipmunks, shrews, and voles, as well as frogs, lizards, and nesting birds during their breeding time.

Are they dangerous?

They are not at all dangerous to humans.

Would they make a good pet?

Due to their highly wild nature, we wouldn't recommend them as a pet.

Did you know...

Did you know... the oldest known wild broad-winged hawk is known to have lived for at least 14 years and 4 months. There are fossils of the Late Pleistocene species of broad-winged Hawks, which is up to 400,000 years old, that have been seen in Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Virginia, and Puerto Rico.

The Broad-Winged Hawk's call

There are in total four ways in which broad-winged hawks call to each other, the most easily heard is a high-pitched whistle that sounds like 'kee-ee' or 'peeoweee'. They use this call to communicate among them in various situations such as territorial disputes, social situations, or finding a mate.

Why is the Broad-Winged Hawk endangered?

Broad-winged hawks are not considered endangered, although there is one species that is going extinct, known as the Puerto Rican broad-winged hawk. It is considered an endangered species and protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The current global population of these North American birds is said to be somewhere around 1,800,000.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds including the secretary bird and the harpy eagle.

You can even occupy yourself at home by drawing one of our hawk coloring pages.