A Rough-legged Hawk seen in Armstrong County during a winter raptor survey. Rough-legged Hawks appear in two different morphs, light and dark. This is a light-morph Rough-legged Hawk. It has a dark belly band, dark wrist markings in the wings, and a tail that has a dark band with a white inner band. This individual is probably an immature bird since it has a totally solid dark belly band (they are lighter or more mottled in adults). Small numbers of Rough-legged Hawks are seen at Allegheny Hawk Watch in both the spring and fall seasons.

This is a dark-morph Rough-legged Hawk seen during a winter raptor survey in Fayette County. Dark-morph Rough-legged Hawks have dark bodies, dark wing coverts with light primaries and secondaries that are tipped with black. This bird is likely an adult since it is solidly black instead of a gray to black as seen in immatures. Dark-morph Rough-legged Hawks represent around 40% of the Rough-legged population and light-morphs account for approximately 60%. Both morphs have been seen at Allegheny Hawk Watch.

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