Polytypic. Length 15–19"; wingspan 37–42". A medium-size buteo with rounded wing tips that do not reach the tip of the tail. Adult: brown above with lighter feather edges and some streaking on ...

It is a member of the buteo family – large hawks with short tails. Our common buteo is the red-tailed hawk, but the Swainson’s is noticeably slimmer. The light morph is light underneath with a ...