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| MEASUREMENTS: The Broad-winged Hawk has a body length of 13 - 17 inches, a 3-foot wingspan, and weighs 11 - 17 ounces. Broad-wings are the smallest of the North American buteo hawks. |
 HABITAT: This hawk lives in deciduous and mixed woodlands from southcentral Canada to the eastern United States. Broad-winged Hawks migrate in large numbers into Central and South America. |
| DIET: Broad-winged Hawks have a varied diet of small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and insects. This hawk hunts from a perch concealed within the trees or at the edge of a clearing and while flying at canopy level. |
REPRODUCTION: A stick nest is built close to the tree trunk or another bird’s nest is used. The female lays 2 - 3 eggs that are incubated for 28 - 31 days. Young hawks
fledge in a month, but are fed by their parents for 3 more weeks. Birds are sexually mature in 1 - 2 years. |
| NAME DERIVATION: The scientific name comes from the Latin word buteo, which refers to a kind of falcon or hawk; and the Greek words platys, meaning broad or wide, and pteron, denoting a wing. This bird has been called a Broad-winged Buzzard. |
INTERESTING FACTS:
- The juvenile and adult plumage of the Broad-winged Hawk is similar to the juvenile and adult plumage of the Cooper’s Hawk.
- There is a single mainland and 5 Caribbean subspecies of the Broad-winged Hawk. The subspecies endemic to Puerto Rico is endangered with a total population of about 100 birds.
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