Broad-winged hawks are small, stocky raptors, not much larger than a crow. They are one of North America’s smaller buteos (buteos are hawks with broad wings for soaring). Adult broad-winged hawks have a brown back, rusty bars on the breast, and a tail with broad, equal-width white and black bands. In flight, the wing tips look pointed, and the tail looks dark with a single broad white band. Juvenile broad-winged hawks look similar to adults but are lighter underneath with brown streaking and have narrower bands on the tail. Adults have a black border to the trailing edge of the wings, but juveniles lack the dark trailing edge. Call is a two-part whistle, so high-pitched you might not think it’s a hawk’s voice: kih-keee.
Similar species: Red-shouldered hawks and red-tailed hawks.
Length: 16 inches; wingspan: 33 inches.
Statewide, but mostly in forested areas such as the Ozarks.
Habitat and Conservation
Broad-winged hawks nest in forested areas, generally far from human activity.
This species is seen mostly during migration — usually in the last week of April and the third week of September, large flocks (“kettles”) of broad-winged hawks may pass through the state. In the evenings, they settle as a group in forested areas to spend the night. Between about 8:00 and 10:00 the next morning, they lift off in mass and begin to climb on warm, rising air currents (“thermals”). Up to 500 and even 1,000 individuals have been observed in these kettles.
Food
Broad-winged hawks mainly prey on small mammals, amphibians, and insects. Frogs, toads, and small rodents make up a large portion of their diet, but they also take reptiles, nestling birds, other mammals, and invertebrates such as grasshoppers, caterpillars, beetles, earthworms, and crabs.
Broad-winged hawks usually forage from a perch and occasionally from the air. They often sit on telephone poles, fence posts, or tree branches and watch for movement on the ground. Once they see their prey, they dive directly onto it or glide in from the side.
Status
As migrant, common statewide, especially in forested regions. As summer breeding resident, uncommon in the Ozark and Ozark Border regions, with scattered nesting records elsewhere in the state; rare in the north.
Life Cycle
Nests are built near forest openings far from human disturbance, often near water. They are positioned low in the tree, often in the lowest main crotch (typically 25 to 40 feet above the ground). Nests are made of sticks, lined with bark and moss. Pairs sometimes reuse their nests from previous years or renovate old nests of other species.
A clutch comprises 1–5 eggs, which are incubated about a month. After hatching, the young stay in the nest for about 40 days. There is only 1 brood a year.
Broad-winged hawks are present in Missouri from April to October. Then they migrate in large flocks to spend winter in Central and South American forests.
Human Connections
Broad-winged hawks often gather in large groups when they migrate. The sight of hundreds or thousands of hawks circling together on thermals evokes the idea that they are in a large soup pot being stirred by a huge spoon — hence the term “kettle” for such flocks.
Ecosystem Connections
In the United States, the dissection of large unbroken tracts of forest by human homes, roads, and other development could pose problems for this and other species that nest far away from people. In this hawk’s South American wintering range, forest destruction poses a serious threat, as does hunting.
About 350 species of birds are likely to be seen in Missouri, though nearly 400 have been recorded within our borders. Most people know a bird when they see one — it has feathers, wings, and a bill. Birds are warm-blooded, and most species can fly. Many migrate hundreds or thousands of miles. Birds lay hard-shelled eggs (often in a nest), and the parents care for the young. Many communicate with songs and calls.