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<\/p>\nIt’s that time of year – the “roughies” are here so I thought it might be helpful to review some basics about sexing them and distinguishing juveniles from adults. Interestingly, the Rough-legged Hawk is our only buteo that exhibits true\u00a0sexual dimorphism so\u00a0adults can be sexed based on plumage.<\/p>\n
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1\/2500, f\/7.1, ISO 500, Canon 7D Mark II, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n Three days ago I photographed this adult male Rough-legged Hawk as it flew past me near the Promontory Mountains in Box Elder County. He wasn’t particularly close but I was happy to get the shots because most roughies I see are\u00a0juveniles (or adult females). I’m not sure why that’s the case but it most definitely is.<\/p>\n I know this bird is an adult because of its very dark brown eye – eyes of juveniles are noticeably lighter colored, either pale brown, light gray or yellow. And I know it’s a male because it’s so dark. The darker colors on adult males are almost blackish but on juveniles of both sexes and adult females those darker colors are brown and buff.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/5000, f\/7.1, ISO 800, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS II USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n This is a defecating adult female – an adult because of the dark eye and a female because her basic plumage color is brown\/buff and not blackish.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1600, f\/6.3, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS\u00a0USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n This bird is a juvenile. I know it’s a juvenile because of its light eye but I don’t know its sex at this age. If it’s a male it will turn darker (almost blackish) when it loses its juvenile plumage. The plumage colors of adult females and juveniles of both sexes\u00a0are similar.<\/p>\n Ok, that’s pretty much it – the basics of sexing adult Roughies and identifying juveniles. However, there are a couple of caveats:<\/p>\n Now that Rough-legged Hawks are here for the winter (their winter range includes\u00a0almost 3\/4 of the continental\u00a0United States) I hope some of my readers will feel encouraged to practice sexing them and distinguishing juveniles from adults.<\/p>\n Ron<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Ok, now it’s quiz time. Based on what you’ve (hopefully) learned above what do you know (and possibly\u00a0not know) about the sex and age of the following Rough-legged Hawk?\u00a0 Don’t scroll down too far below the image before you come up with\u00a0your answer. I’ll provide the correct answer further below the image.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n 1\/1000, f\/8, ISO 500, Canon 7D, Canon EF 500mm f\/4L IS\u00a0USM + EF 1.4 III Extender, not baited, set up or called in<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This roughie is a juvenile. We know it’s a juvie because of the light eye. Because it’s a juvie we don’t know its sex.<\/em><\/p>\n For what it’s worth I adore this flight pose. The bird was kiting in the wind and raised its head in an effort to look over the nearby\u00a0raised\u00a0causeway road to Antelope Island. The last two images are actually of the same bird.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/rough-legged-hawk-1902c-ron-dudley.jpg\" "\\"rough-legged-hawk-1902c-ron-dudley\\"")
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