Buteo regalis
Silhouette: Lauren Anderson · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The ferruginous hawk (Buteo regalis) is a large bird of prey and belongs to the broad-winged buteo hawks. An old colloquial name is ferrugineous rough-leg, due to its similarity to the closely related rough-legged hawk (B. lagopus).
The generic name buteo is Latin for 'buzzard'. The specific epithet regalis is Latin for 'royal' (from rex, regis, 'king'). The common name 'ferruginous' means 'rust-colored' or 'reddish-brown'. This species is a large, broad-winged hawk of the open, arid grasslands, prairie and bush steppe country; it is endemic to the interior parts of North America. It is used as a falconry bird in its native ranges.
This is the largest of the North American Buteos and is often mistaken for an eagle due to its size, proportions, and behavior. Among all the nearly thirty species of Buteo in the world, only the upland buzzard (B. hemilasius) of Asia averages larger in length and wingspan. The weight of the upland buzzard and ferruginous broadly overlaps and which of these two species is the heaviest in the genus is debatable. As with all birds of prey, the female ferruginous hawk is larger than the male, but there is some overlap between small females... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Badlands National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Yellowstone National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Grand Canyon National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Zion National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Rocky Mountain National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Denver | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Mesa | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Salt Lake City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | San Francisco | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Sacramento | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ZooParc de Beauval | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 2 | Abilene Zoological Gardens | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Espace Rambouillet | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | African Lion Safari | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 5 | Birds of prey | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Lisbon Zoo | 🇵🇹 Portugal | |
| 7 | Wildparadies Tripsdrill | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 8 | Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | The Abilene Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Oasi Naturalistica di Sant'Alessio | 🇮🇹 Italy | |
| 11 | Yellowstone Wildlife Sanctuary | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 12 | Grizzly Bear Habitat | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 13 | Suffolk Owl Sanctuary | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 14 | Lindsay Wildlife Experience | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 15 | Loch Lomond Bird of Prey Centre | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 16 | Cascades Raptor Center | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 17 | Le centre de soins des rapaces Espace Rambouillet | 🇫🇷 France |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Ferruginous Hawk sighting in Yellowstone National Park on a given day, based on 37 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 154th most-seen of the 197 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Ferruginous Hawk in Yellowstone National Park on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Ferruginous Hawk sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Ferruginous Hawk sightings, Yellowstone National Park ranks 2nd at under 5%. The best odds are in Badlands National Park (United States, about 10%).
Same genus: Buteo
The closest relatives of the Ferruginous Hawk that you can see in Yellowstone National Park (genus Buteo, Buteos) are Red-tailed Hawk (about 40%) and Swainson's Hawk (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Ferruginous Hawk is recorded against all the birds logged in Yellowstone National Park (37 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
