Abstract
Abstract We report a specimen that appears to be a hybrid between Swainson's Hawk (Buteo swainsoni) and Rough-legged Hawk (B. lagopus), which, to our knowledge, is the first hybrid specimen for the genus. There are few reports of hybridization between Buteo species, most of which have been observations of interspecific nesting pairs. The specimen described herein was collected in Louisiana and initially identified as a Rough-legged Hawk because of its feathered tarsi and the dark bellyband and carpals. A DNA sequence from the maternally inherited mitochondrial ND6 gene was identical to a published sequence for Swainson's Hawk. Nuclear DNA sequences from two introns contained only five variable sites among a panel of five potential parental taxa, but the hybrid sequence was most consistent with parentage by Rough-legged and Swainson's hawks. The feathered tarsi of the hybrid strongly suggested that the father was either a Rough-legged or Ferruginous hawk (B. regalis), the only North American raptors other ...
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