Red-tailed Hawk

Buteo jamaicensis

Photo by gene, Location: Illinois, USA

Photo by nomdeploom, Location: Nevada, USA

Identification

A large stocky hawk that has a typical light-phase with a whitish breast and rust-colored tail. Young birds are duller, more streaked and lack rust-colored tail of the adult, instead showing a light brown tail wih some dark barring. They are told apart from Red-shouldered Hawk and Swainson's Hawk by their white chest, stocky build, and broader, more rounded wings. This species is quite variable in colour, especially in the West, where blackish individuals occur; these oftn retain a rusty or reddish tail. One of the most reliable indicators is dark leading edges of the wings, seen in flight.

Distribution

Year-round over most of the U.S. and Mexico; summers northward throughout the Canadian Provinces and insland Alaska.

Taxonomy

Kingdom: Animalia-> Phylum: Chordata-> Class: Aves -> Order: Falconiformes-> Family: Accipitridae-> Genus: Buteo -> Species: B. jamaicensis

Five races: Krider's (krideri) is a pink-tailed Great Plains race; borealis in the east, fuertesi in the Southwest, calurus in the west, and Harlon's Hawk, harlani, a very dark morph easily confused with the Swainson's Hawk.

Habitat

The most common hawk on the NA continent, B. Jamaicensis frequents woodland edges, soars above plains, is often seen perched on utility poles where natural perches are not available.

Behaviour

Soars or perches, looking for a wide variety of food; small to medium mammals, lizards, frogs, worms, insects, bats, and small birds. Monogamous.

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