Conservation status: Threatened. The current population may be fewer than 4,000 pairs.

The ferruginous hawk is a large bird of prey and belongs to the broad-winged buteo hawks. An old colloquial name is ferrugineous rough-leg, due to its similarity to the closely related rough-legged hawk. The bulky sticks of their nests are not easily woven together for tree nesting, so they often build on the remains of pre-existing hawk or crow nests. Conservation managers can take advantage of this, providing artificial nests to help boost populations. Ferruginous Hawks and Rough-legged Hawks (plus the Golden Eagle) are the only American hawks to have feathered legs all the way down to their toes.