Red-tailed Hawk vs Rough-Legged Buzzard

Buteo jamaicensis compared with Buteo lagopus

Key Differences

• Red-tailed Hawk is Least Concern while Rough-Legged Buzzard is Near Threatened.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	Red-tailed Hawk	Rough-Legged Buzzard
Kingdom same	Animalia (hayvan)	Animalia (hayvan)
Phylum same	Chordata (Kordalılar)	Chordata (Kordalılar)
Class same	Aves (kuş)	Aves (kuş)
Order same	Accipitriformes (Hawks & Eagles)	Accipitriformes (Hawks & Eagles)
Family same	Accipitridae (Hawks & Eagles)	Accipitridae (Hawks & Eagles)
Genus same	Buteo	Buteo
Species	Buteo jamaicensis	Buteo lagopus

Evolutionary Relationship

Red-tailed Hawk and Rough-Legged Buzzard share a common ancestor at the Genus level: Buteo.

Conservation Status

Red-tailed Hawk

LC — Least Concern

Rough-Legged Buzzard

NT — Near Threatened

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	Red-tailed Hawk	Rough-Legged Buzzard
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

Red-tailed Hawk

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Widely distributed across Europe (5 countries), North America (United States), and South America (Colombia).

Rough-Legged Buzzard

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Found across Europe (5 countries) and North America (United States). Listed as Near Threatened, this species requires ongoing monitoring to prevent population decline.

Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List. Widespread and abundant across its range, with stable populations and no immediate conservation concerns.

Rough-Legged Buzzard

Rough-Legged Buzzard (Buteo lagopus) is classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List. Close to qualifying as threatened, with populations that may become vulnerable without conservation action.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 3 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇳🇴 Norway 🇺🇸 United States