Buteo regalis - Ferruginous Hawk

30 inches wide x 20 inches high

So big! So majestic! The largest hawk in North America is a regular winter visitor to southern Arizona. I see them holding their position on local sod farms and alfalfa fields like so many bowling pins; the loose dirt holding many gophers, their favorite food. Yet their feet are so petite, perfectly adapted for reaching down the gopher holes or through the soft dirt to strike at the rodents.