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Red-tailed Hawk

Buteo jamaicensisOrder: FALCONIFORMESFamily: Kites, Eagles and Hawks (Accipitridae)
Red-tailed Hawk Head Illustration_2

Head

  • Bill Shape: Hooked
  • Eye Color: Yellow in young birds, grading to brown in older birds
  • Head Pattern: Eyeline, Plain, Unique pattern
  • Crown Color: Dark Brown
  • Forehead Color: Dark Brown
  • Nape Color: Dark Brown
  • Throat Color: Dark Brown
  • Cere color: Yellow
Red-tailed Hawk Body Illustration_2

Body

  • Length Range: 48-64 cm (19-25 in)
  • Weight: 1043 g (36.8 oz)
  • Size: Large (16 - 32 in)
  • Color Primary: Brown
  • Underparts: Pale with dark belly band.
  • Upperparts: Dark Brown
  • Back Pattern: Spotted or speckled, Mottled
  • Belly Pattern: Striped or streaked
  • Breast Pattern: Solid
Red-tailed Hawk Flight Illustration_2

Flight

  • Flight Pattern: Soars on thermals., Several rapid strong wing beats followed by glide., Sometimes hangs on updrafts.
  • Wingspan Range: 117-147 cm (46-58 in)
  • Wing Shape: Broad-Wings
  • Tail Shape: Squared Tail
  • Tail Pattern: Little or no banding.
  • Upper Tail: Red with black terminal band.
  • Under Tail: White
  • Leg Color: Yellow
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Family
Species Buteo jamaicensis
Length19 - 25 Inches
Wingspan52 Inches

Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk: Large, highly variable hawk with brown upperparts, head and throat. The underparts are pale with brown streaks. Wings are pale below with dark bar at leading edge and dark tips. The tail is red-brown with dark terminal band. Legs and feet are yellow. Soars on thermals and updrafts.

● Song: "keeer-r-r"

● Foraging & Feeding: Red-tailed Hawk: Eats mostly small mammals, but also takes birds and reptiles; male Red-winged Blackbirds are often eaten because of their vulnerability when guarding nests.

● Breeding & nesting: Red-tailed Hawk: Two to three white to pale blue eggs, sometimes spotted with brown, are laid in a nest constructed from twigs, lined with pine needles and bark, and built in a large tree. Eggs are incubated for about 30 days by both parents; male may bring female food while she is on the nest.

● Similar species: Red-tailed Hawk: Rough-legged Hawk has unmarked flight feathers, a white comma on the outermost underwing coverts, and lacks brown tail. Dark morph Swainson's Hawk has dark flight feathers and white undertail coverts.

Flight Pattern

Soars on thermals., Several rapid strong wing beats followed by glide., Sometimes hangs on updrafts.
Red-tailed Hawk Body Illustration_2
● Range & Habitat: Red-tailed Hawk: Found in Alaska and Canada south to Panama. Found in open country, woodlands, prairie groves, mountains, plains, farmlands, and roadsides.
BreedingMonogamous, Solitary nester
PopulationVery common
MigrationMigratory
Weight36.8 Ounces