![]() In urban and suburban areas, they can become quite acclimated to humans. ![]() Red-shouldered hawks dine primarily on small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, large insects, and some birds. Their chests boast fine orange barring, and their tails are slightly longer with distinctive dark and light stripes. Adult “shoulders” do indeed show handsome orange-red shoulder patches both perched and in flight. It stands 17 inches tall with a 40-inch wingspan. Our other common buteo, the red-shouldered hawk, is slightly smaller than the red-tailed. It does limit agility, so you will not usually have to worry about a red-tailed hawk grabbing a songbird off your bird feeder. If you can answer “yes” to all of the above, odds are good you’ve got yourself a “tail.”Īll that brawn is handy when it comes to grabbing a squirrel or rabbit, snatching a pigeon or quail, or picking up a fish. Does it have a white breast with a bellyband? Is it beefy? Red-tailed hawks are stocky, and look like they spend their spare time at the gym working out.ģ. Leave it to those tricky juveniles to complicate things, as their tails are brown with horizontal bars.Ģ. Does it have a red tail? All adult red-tailed hawks will show this signature feature. ![]() Here are three questions to ask when attempting to identify a red-tailed hawk.ġ. Buteos have broad wings, robust bodies, and proportionally shorter tails. Perhaps this was a mated pair out for some off-season soaring on a windy day.Īt 19 inches tall with a 49-inch wingspan, the red-tailed hawk is our largest buteo. Red-tailed hawks maintain long-term pair bonds, with courtship and nesting happening in February, March and April. ![]() Somehow, the interactions seemed friendly rather than competitive. As I glanced skyward, a red-tailed hawk screeched loudly, as if to say “here I am, write about me!”Ī second hawk joined the first, and as they dipped and dove, I speculated on their relationship. I walked out to the end of the driveway on a blessedly cooler November morning. You may wonder, dear readers, how I keep finding something to write about every two weeks after more than 18 years. ![]()
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