Swainson's hawk

Swainson's Hawk
Scientific classification
Kingdom Information
Domain	Eukaryota
Kingdom	Animalia
Subkingdom	Bilateria
Branch	Deuterostomia
Phylum Information
Phylum	Chordata
Sub-phylum	Vertebrata
Infraphylum	Gnathostomata
Class Information
Superclass	Tetrapoda
Class	Aves
Sub-class	Neornithes
Infra-class	Neoaves
Order Information
Superorder	Passerimorphae
Order	Accipitriformes
Infraorder	Falconides
Family Information
Family	Accipitridae
Sub-family	Buteoninae
Genus Information
Genus	Buteo
Species Information
Species	B. swainsoni
Population statistics

Swainson's hawk (Buteo swainsoni) is a bird of prey native to the prairies of western North America, and known as a long-distance migrant as it winters in Patagonia. The bird was named for the English ornothologist William Swainson (1789-1855).

Description

Similar in size to the red-tailed hawk, it differs from that bird by having longer, more pointed wings, with an overall wingspan of 46–54 inches. It is brown above, white below, and bears a brown chest "bib"; the tail is banded, but rather indistinctly. Although rare, a darker version of this bird also occurs. Females are slightly larger than males.

Juveniles are similar to immature red-tails, but have darker breast markings, while red-tails marked rather conspicuously on belly and flanks.

Feeding

Swainson's hawk hunts in open grasslands, actively taking rodents, young rabbits, and other small mammals as it flies low over the ground. It will often fly in the wake of farm tractors, taking advantage of any animals disturbed by the farming; this includes insects. One of the few birds of prey that actively hunt insects, Swainson's hawk has often been called the "grasshopper hawk" for its voracious appetite of these insects.