Birds of Prey
Red-tailed Hawk
Buteo jamaicensis
The most common large hawk in North America, often seen perched on roadside poles or circling over fields. Its raspy scream is the classic hawk sound in movies.
How to identify it
- Adult: brick-red tail
- Pale breast with a band of dark streaks across the belly
- Dark bar along the front edge of the underwing
- Broad, rounded wings and short tail
- Hoarse "kee-eeeer" scream
SizeBetween an American Crow and a Canada Goose
American Crow19 in
Red-tailed Hawk22 in
Canada Goose37 in
Great Blue Heron46 in
6 inAverage length, bill to tail
Details
- Size
- 18–26 in long; wingspan 45–52 in
- Weight
- 1.5–3.5 lb
- Habitat
- Open fields, roadsides, woodland edges, even cities
- When to see it
- Year-round across most of the US
- Diet
- Rodents, rabbits, snakes, birds
Range in the United States
Life history
Food
Mostly rodents such as mice, voles and squirrels; also rabbits, snakes and birds.
Nesting
A large stick nest high in a tree, on a cliff or even on a building ledge.
- Clutch
- 1–5 eggs
- Incubation
- 28–35 days
- Young
- Fledge at about 6–7 weeks
- Broods
- 1 per year
Behavior
Often hunts from a perch along highways. Pairs soar together and perform dives in courtship.
Conservation
Abundant and increasing.
Cool facts
- Its scream is often used in movies for eagles and other birds of prey.
- Some pairs nest on city buildings, such as the famous "Pale Male" in New York.
- Young birds don't have red tails until their second year.
Songs & calls
▶Bird sounds video coming soon
Watch the Red-tailed Hawk
▶Video coming soon
