General
Red-tailed Hawk: Large, highly variable hawk with brown upperparts, head and throat. Underparts are pale with brown streaks. Wings are pale below with dark bar at leading edge and dark tips. Tail is red-brown with dark terminal band. Western birds are usually darker than eastern. Additional forms include the paler Krider’s Red-tailed Hawk and nearly black Harlan’s Red-Tailed Hawk. Sexes are similar. Juvenile has finely banded tail.
Range and Habitat
Red-tailed Hawk: Found in Alaska and Canada south to Panama. Found in open country, woodlands, prairie groves, mountains, plains, farmlands, and roadsides.
Breeding and 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.
Foraging and 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.
Vocalization
Red-tailed Hawk: Screams a loud, harsh, slurred squeal "keee-ahrrr" or "keeer-r-r-r."
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.