rough-legged hawk
noun
variants or rough-legged buzzard
: a large circumpolar arctic hawk (Buteo lagopus) that winters southward and typically has a white tail with a wide black band or bands at the tip
Note: Rough-legged hawks hover in the air on beating wings to search tundra, marshes, and fields for rodents to prey on.
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Worcester County: The region hosted three sandhill cranes at the Bolton Flats in Bolton, two black vultures in Fitchburg, two more in Blackstone, a single black vulture in Hardwick, and a rough-legged hawk near the Uxbridge Community Garden. 
BostonGlobe.com, 5 Mar. 2022 Franklin County: Observers spotted a rough-legged hawk at the Orange Airport, five black vultures at Turners Falls and three in Deerfield, and a continuing summer tanager at 73 Hadley Road in Sunderland. BostonGlobe.com, 12 Feb. 2022 On Plum Island, there were 16 Northern shovelers, eight red-grebes, two rough-legged hawks, and a yellow-breasted chat. BostonGlobe.com, 23 Dec. 2019 There was a Northern shoveler at Winsegansett Avenue Marsh in Fairhaven, a rough-legged hawk at Mill Brook Wildlife Management Area in Freetown, and a continuing Eurasian wigeon at Broad Cove in Somerset. BostonGlobe.com, 19 Jan. 2020 At noon, a rough-legged hawk flew in and roosted on a high snag about 50 yards away, seemingly content to soak up the solar warmth. Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 1 Jan. 2020 Heavy October and November snows, along with frigid temperatures in the Northern Plains, have contributed to a modest influx of ferruginous and rough-legged hawks into Boulder County. The Know, 4 Dec. 2019 During the 1980s and 1990s, wintering ferruginous and rough-legged hawks were considered fairly common on the plains of Boulder County. The Know, 4 Dec. 2019 See More
BostonGlobe.com, 5 Mar. 2022 Franklin County: Observers spotted a rough-legged hawk at the Orange Airport, five black vultures at Turners Falls and three in Deerfield, and a continuing summer tanager at 73 Hadley Road in Sunderland. BostonGlobe.com, 12 Feb. 2022 On Plum Island, there were 16 Northern shovelers, eight red-grebes, two rough-legged hawks, and a yellow-breasted chat. BostonGlobe.com, 23 Dec. 2019 There was a Northern shoveler at Winsegansett Avenue Marsh in Fairhaven, a rough-legged hawk at Mill Brook Wildlife Management Area in Freetown, and a continuing Eurasian wigeon at Broad Cove in Somerset. BostonGlobe.com, 19 Jan. 2020 At noon, a rough-legged hawk flew in and roosted on a high snag about 50 yards away, seemingly content to soak up the solar warmth. Paul A. Smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 1 Jan. 2020 Heavy October and November snows, along with frigid temperatures in the Northern Plains, have contributed to a modest influx of ferruginous and rough-legged hawks into Boulder County. The Know, 4 Dec. 2019 During the 1980s and 1990s, wintering ferruginous and rough-legged hawks were considered fairly common on the plains of Boulder County. The Know, 4 Dec. 2019 See More Word History
First Known Use
1811, in the meaning defined above