The Ferruginous Hawk breeds from southern British Columbia (very rarely), southeastern Alberta, southern Saskatchewan and extreme southwestern Manitoba south through eastern Washington, eastern Oregon, and Nevada to Arizona and New Mexico. It's breeding range extends eastward to include Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, the Dakotas and small parts of western Nebraska, Oklahoma and Texas. As such, it has the smallest breeding range of any buteo occurring regularly north of Mexico. The wintering range includes the breeding range north only to the latitudes of northern Wyoming, but it expands west in Oregon and includes California, south into Mexico and eastward in South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Year-round, the Ferruginous Hawk can be found within the breeding range except for the Canadian provinces, Washington, northern Oregon, Montana, North Dakota and northern South Dakota and northern Wyoming. Stragglers in migration and winter have occurred in Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia, New Jersey, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Florida.
There are no subspecies and this species occurs nowhere in the world except in North America.
MIGRATION
Dispersal from the nesting site occurs within about 40 days of fledging and can involve any direction. Southbound migration at the latitudes of the southern Canadian prairies is well-underway by mid to late September and by early October in the northern United States. Birds reach the San Francisco area by September 8, suggesting that southbound migrants are moving by early September in some areas. Band returns indicate that the origin of California birds includes Alberta, North Dakota, Idaho, and Colorado. Movements by southerly nesters are poorly documented and it has been suggested that they may be sedentary. Birds reach northern Mexico at least as early as October 23 and are frequent there until at least March 2.
Substantial movement in Arizona has been noted between March 15 and April 5, with arrivals as far north as South Dakota by late March or early April. In Utah and Colorado, birds return by late February or early March and birds are at Idaho nesting sites by mid March. Movements into southern Canada occur around late March or early April.
Information about migration routes seems limited, but at least some more or less lateral movement occurs during the fall as northern birds disperse into the broadened winter range to the south.
#Which species has this range?;question\Q12\Q12.wav
