Free Range Photography

The official Latin name for the Ferruginous Hawk is Buteo regalis. The word ‘regalis’ translates to king or kingly, a concept my peasant heart rejects. The North American bird was originally named Falco ferruginious in 1838, when a specimen was ‘discovered’ in Monterey, California. However, a different specimen that somehow found its way to England was named Buteo regalis by the British Museum in 1844. The bird was chiefly known as Falco ferruginious until the 1920’s when the double naming was discovered and for some unknown reason, the latter epithet was officially adopted.

While the ornithologists in charge of such things are busy renaming birds to eliminate inadvertently honoring dishonorable men by whose names many species are commonly known, maybe they could consider giving this beautiful hawk back its original and more descriptive (ferruginous means rust-colored) moniker. Ultimately, the bird couldn’t care less what we call it; it’s lived on this continent longer than Homo sapiens, and while human destruction of its habitat and poisoning of its environment threaten it, 4,000 mating pairs persist.

Ferruginous Hawks hunt from perches, sometimes from the air, and often from the ground, pouncing on or running after rodent prey.