Parks & Recreation

Meet the Rough-Legged Hawks at Wildwood Zoo

Rough Hawk

We have two Rough-Legged Hawks at the zoo--one male and one female. One has a wing injury and one has an eye injury. They came to us from Utah in 2013. Because they would not be able to hunt successfully they would not survive in the wild.

Rough-Legged Hawks are large hawks that commonly winter in Wisconsin. They breed and spend their summers in Canada before migrating down to the United States to find food for the winter.

Rough-legged hawks got their name from the feathering that extends all the way down to their toes. The only other North American raptors that display this characteristic are Golden Eagles and Ferruginous Hawks. Rough-legged hawks like to eat small mammals (like prairie dogs and rabbits), but will occasionally take a bird as well.

Rough-Legged Hawk Range in North America

Rough range

For more information, please visit USGS.