rough-legged hawk

noun

variants or rough-legged buzzard
: a large circumpolar arctic hawk (Buteo lagopus) that winters southward and typically has a white tail with a wide black band or bands at the tip

Note: Rough-legged hawks hover in the air on beating wings to search tundra, marshes, and fields for rodents to prey on.

Examples of rough-legged hawk in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Four black vultures in Deerfield, a Barrow’s goldeneye at at the Barton Cove campground, a rough-legged hawk and 40 snow buntings in Montague and 28 rusty blackbirds in Sunderland. Isabela Rocha, BostonGlobe.com, 11 Feb. 2023 Worcester County: The region hosted three sandhill cranes at the Bolton Flats in Bolton, two black vultures in Fitchburg, two more in Blackstone, a single black vulture in Hardwick, and a rough-legged hawk near the Uxbridge Community Garden. BostonGlobe.com, 5 Mar. 2022 Franklin County: Observers spotted a rough-legged hawk at the Orange Airport, five black vultures at Turners Falls and three in Deerfield, and a continuing summer tanager at 73 Hadley Road in Sunderland. BostonGlobe.com, 12 Feb. 2022 On Plum Island, there were 16 Northern shovelers, eight red-grebes, two rough-legged hawks, and a yellow-breasted chat. BostonGlobe.com, 23 Dec. 2019 There was a Northern shoveler at Winsegansett Avenue Marsh in Fairhaven, a rough-legged hawk at Mill Brook Wildlife Management Area in Freetown, and a continuing Eurasian wigeon at Broad Cove in Somerset. BostonGlobe.com, 19 Jan. 2020 At noon, a rough-legged hawk flew in and roosted on a high snag about 50 yards away, seemingly content to soak up the solar warmth. Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 1 Jan. 2020 Heavy October and November snows, along with frigid temperatures in the Northern Plains, have contributed to a modest influx of ferruginous and rough-legged hawks into Boulder County. The Know, 4 Dec. 2019 During the 1980s and 1990s, wintering ferruginous and rough-legged hawks were considered fairly common on the plains of Boulder County. The Know, 4 Dec. 2019

Word History

First Known Use

1811, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of rough-legged hawk was in 1811

Dictionary Entries Near rough-legged hawk

Cite this Entry

“Rough-legged hawk.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rough-legged%20hawk. Accessed 15 Nov. 2024.

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