Red-tailed Hawk
What's in a name? What does it look like? What does it sound like? How does it behave? Where does it live? Cool facts Red-tailed Hawk.
WHAT'S IN A NAME?	TOP
Common name Red-tailed Hawk Scientific name Buteo jamaicensis Spanish names Aguililla parda; Busardo Colirrojo; Aguililla cola roja French names Buse à queue rousse "Family" Tree (Taxonomy) Order Falconiformes Family Accipitridae
WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE?	TOP
adult juvenile adult CLICK ON THE THUMBNAIL IMAGE TO ENLARGE Description * large hawk with brown upper parts (back, wings, head, throat) * underparts (breast, belly) are pale and have brown streaks * short, hooked beak with black on tip * brick red tail * unique dark spot underneath the tip of the wings * sexes look similar, but females are larger * juveniles have yellow eyes and are slimmer with narrower wings and tail Size Stout-bodied, broad-winged hawk, about 18-25 inches. Similar species Swainson's, Ferruginous, and Rough-legged hawks are similar but without reddish tail of adult Red-tails. Red tail separates dark form from all other hawks. Swainson's and Rough-legged hawks have more dark underneath and Ferruginous is much lighter underneath than Red-tailed. Ferruginous and Rough-legged are larger than Red-tailed. Red-shouldered Hawk has a banded tail and is more uniformly colored.
WHAT DOES IT SOUND LIKE?	TOP
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Sounds provided by the Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds.
HOW DOES IT BEHAVE?	TOP
What does it eat? Small mammals, birds, reptiles, and snakes; carrion; some insects. Where does it eat? Eats insects on ground; eats its prey on a feeding perch Who eats it? Great Horned Owl; killed by human (shot or hit by car). Nesting 1 - 3 blue-white eggs that are smooth and non-glossy. White with dark blotches of pale reddish-brown, dark brown or purple. Incubated by both parents for about one month. Body of nest usually constructed of deciduous sticks and twigs. Lining may include strips of bark, fresh green conifer or deciduous sprigs, corn cobs, husks, and stalks, and other similar items.
WHERE DOES IT LIVE?	TOP
Range The Red-tailed Hawk is one of the most widespread and commonly observed birds of prey in North America. It occupies a broad range of habitats from central Alaska south to Panama and east to the Virgin Islands. Habitat Open areas with scattered, elevated perch sites (cities, highways); in a wide range of altitudes and habitats, including scrub desert, plains and mountain grassland, agricultural fields, pastures, urban parkland, broken coniferous and deciduous forests, tropical rainforests. CLICK ON THE MAP TO ENLARGE
COOL FACTS	TOP
The raspy cry of the Red-tailed Hawk is used in movies to represent any eagle or hawk anywhere in the world. In the courtship display a pair of Red-tailed Hawks soars in wide circles at a great height. The male dives down in a steep drop, then shoots up again at nearly as steep an angle. He repeats this maneuver several times, then approaches the female from above. He extends his legs and touches or grasps her briefly. The pair may grab onto one other and may interlock their talons and spiral toward the ground. Pair bond usually maintained until death of a partner. Pale Male is a Red-tailed Hawk who chose life in New York City and founded a hawk dynasty on the ledge of a swanky high-rise overlooking Central Park. The presence of a red-tailed hawk launching into majestic flight from a Fifth Avenue apartment building to search for prey in the skies over Central Park created a local sensation. he soon became a cause célèbre, first among local residents, then New Yorkers in general, attracting the interest of naturalists, photographers, and journalists. Red-tailed Hawks sometimes play with an object in midair, repeatedly dropping and catching it. Cooperative hunting, where two hawks guard opposite sides of a tree, may sometimes be used to catch tree squirrels. Small prey such as mammals are swallowed whole and birds are beheaded, plucked, and eaten. Larger items are partially plucked and eaten on the ground, the remains often brought to a perch for continued feeding. Large carcasses are usually abandoned after several hours of feeding, but may be revisited for up 3-4 days in cold weather. Red-tails have died from lead poisoning associated with the ingestion of food items containing lead shot, but it is not a major threat to this species. Currently, the greatest threat to the Red-tailed Hawk is posed by shooting, automobile collisions, and direct human interference with nesting activities. Oldest known wild individual (banded) was 21.5 years. A captive female Red-tail is known to have lived at least 29.5 years. The red-tailed hawk is one of three hawks to be called the "Chicken Hawk". Read more about Red-tailed Hawks at All About Birds.

Sources used to contruct this page: Preston, C. R., and R. D. Beane. 1993. Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis). In The Birds of North America, No. 52 (A. Poole, and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.

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