Stats

Lifespan

10-16 yrs

Size

Medium

Diet

Carnivore

Activity

Diurnal

Social

Solitary

Biome

Temperate forest

Range

North America

Movement

Flight

Breeding

Egg-laying

Defense

Speed

Status

Common

About

This compact raptor nests in the dense forests of North America and winters in Brazil. It gathers in massive flocks called kettles to soar thousands of miles during migration.

Life cycle

1. 1.
   egg

   One or two eggs are incubated on a high stick nest or cliff ledge, guarded closely by the pair.
2. 2.
   hatchling

   A downy hatchling is fed torn meat by its parents and grows quickly in a high nest.
3. 3.
   juvenile

   A feathered juvenile fledges from the nest, learning to soar and to make its first kills.
4. 4.
   adult

   Fully grown, hunting on its own with adult plumage.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Accipitriformes

Family

Accipitridae

Genus

Buteo

Species

Buteo platypterus