The Swainson’s hawk is a raptor of the open fields and prairies of the central and western regions of the country and a rare visitor to New England. 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 dark chest giving it a hooded appearance. The dark trailing edges of its flight feathers is distinctive and wings appear more pointed in flight.