red tailed hawk

Photo: Mark Stevens

Red-tailed Hawk
(Buteo jamaicensis)

Red-tailed hawks are the largest of the North American buteos, and on any given day you can see these hawks rising and soaring on the thermal air currents.Red-tailed hawks frequent woodlands and open country with scattered trees. Their nests are often built in the crotch of large trees with commanding views and should be carefully avoided, as incubating hawks are very easily disturbed.

It is believed that red-tails mate for life. Both sexes build the nest and the female incubates the 2-3 eggs for 28-32 days. The male will hunt and bring food back for the female while she is on the nest. Red-tail hawks eat mostly rodents, though they have been seen to prey on amphibians, fish and snakes. Red-tailed hawks provide excellent rodent control, with the abilityto see a mouse from 100 feet away.They are believed to eat over 1,000 mice a year.Their voice is described by Peterson as an asthmatic squeal, “keeeeee-r-r” (slurring downward). Their call is quite distinct, and is as striking as their appearance. As the red-tail grows older, it molts and the plumage and eye color changes. Because of this the juvenile and the adult look very different. Only as the bird matures does it gain its signature red tail.

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