Red Tailed Hawks

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Ranked #1,029 in Animals, #25,349 overall

Keeping an Eye on Everything: The Red Tailed Hawk!

You've seen this bird before, whether you've realized it or not! If you live in North America, there's not much of a chance that you haven't seen one of these birds hovering over the highways and backroads at some point. The Red Tailed Hawk is the most populous species of hawks on the continent! It also has amazing vision to catch its prey.



Photo Courtesy of Steve Jurvetson

It Will Put up with Almost Anything... 

One tough hawk!

Red Tailed Hawks prefer to nest in high altitudes, like high trees, clifftops, and telephone lines. They also love tall buildings! These are absolutely perfect for their nesting grounds, and besides, in the city where else would they nest?

Red Tailed Hawk, New England, MA


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Red Tailed Hawk

Red Tailed Hawk Poll 

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These Birds Get Around! 

Red Tailed Hawks span half the globe!

Red Tailed Hawks are medium sized hawk that spans in range from Alaska all the way down to Central America. Their versatility and quick adaption to their environment has lead to them becoming a very dominant species population-wise. You'll find them in the bleek deserts of California, the wet rainforests of Panama, or the deep, lush highly competitive areas of Alaska. They have an approximate 43-57 inch wingspan, weighing in at around 1.4-4.3 pounds on the average. Females are also slightly larger than males.

Red Tailed Hawk Items 

If you or someone you know love Red Tailed Hawks, here are some of the more unique items on CafePress featuring the bird. These are all designed or photographed by individuals, not some massive company. Support the little guy!

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Hawk Rectangle Magnet

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Woah! What was that?

Faster than a speeding bullet? Not quite, but the Red Tailed Hawk can dive at a speed of up to 120 mph! That's faster than most cars! This feature gives it a cool advantage over it's prey.

Red Tailed Hawk Video 

This video is highly informative and will give you a good idea of what to look for outdoors next time you're outdoors.

Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Runtime: 112
22866 views
22 Comments:

curated content from YouTube

What Do Red Tailed Hawks Look Like? 

A quick way to identify these high flying hawks!

Red-Tailed Hawk Showing Tail Colors, Wildlife West Nature Park, New Mexico, USA


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Red Tailed Hawks have a light underbelly with brown spots or dark brown bands across the belly. The tail is red on the top, pink on the bottom. If you see a Red Tailed Hawk mid-air from below, you'll spot the characteristic "red tail," which is usually a pinky-red. It's very easy to spot. The head is darker, but still spotty. Younger Red Tails will have yellow irises which will darken over age, becoming completely red-brown in a few years.

Magnified View of a Red-Tailed Hawk Feather


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What do Red Tailed Hakws Eat?

These birds eat a variety of rodents, small mammals, songbirds, reptiles, and fish. It's not uncommon to even see them munching on a snake!

Eastern Birds Field Guide 

A recommended guide to spot all types of birds!

One of the most comprehensive guides for birds, this field guide will help you spot birds in your back yard, on vacation, on the feeder, or on the Discovery Channel before the narrator opens his mouth.

A Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America

Amazon Price: $12.97 (as of 12/17/2009)Buy Now
List Price: $19.95

Unanimously applauded by reviewers and customers, this book has an unbeatable five star rating on Amazon. The pictures are crisp, clear, and the descriptions are accurate and comprehensive. Easy to read maps of the species range show where they live, and the differences between males and females are shown so you don't get confused.

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Red Tailed Hawks...they're territorial, so stay away from nests!

Pest Control

Red Tailed Hawks are one of nature's way of getting rid of the big rodent population. Nearly 90% of their diet consists of these critters, keeping them in check and keeping them out of everyone's homes!

Faithful Birds! 

Hawks that stick by each other for life!

These birds rarely are anything but monogamous. They mate for life, or until the other mate dies. They'll stick together in the same nesting area for years, guarding it from other birds, then moving on when the time is right.

When nesting, they typically have a clutch of 1-5 eggs in the early weeks of April. While the female incubates for the most part, the male will be out hunting. After successful hatching, which should be a little over a month, the birds will fly within 10 weeks.

Photo right: Courtesy of Thomas Oneil Photos

Close Up of Red-Tail Hawk




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Start Birdwatching! 

You can start birdwatching by reading this easy to read, well-reviewed book from "for Dummies" publishers.

Bird Watching for Dummies

Amazon Price: (as of 12/17/2009)Buy Now
List Price: $19.99

It's easy to read, simple, and like all of the Dummies books, provides an excellent overview. Start birding with this beginner's book!

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More Birds Lenses... 

Head on over to these interesting bird lenses! You'll find more pictures, videos, information and tidbits that can be consumed quickly. Give it a try!

Red Tailed Hawk News... 

Hawk found injured in Provincetown recovering at Wild Care
By Staff reports A wounded young male red-tailed hawk (pictured above) who was found in a bird coop on Sal and Josephine Del Deo's property off Atkins Mayo ...
Parks step up permit game, so be ready
Sightings: What happens when a red-tailed hawk and an American kestrel have a "dogfight." Dick Wilmot found out in the foothills near Lafayette. ...

Like Red Tailed Hawks??

You'll probably like the American Kestrel too! Check out that lens for more information on this cool falcon.

Drop a Line Here! 

Red Tails are a very cool bird that's neat to watch. Have a cool Red Tailed Hawk story? Share it here! Or, you can just drop in and say hello!

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  • Reply
    sittonbull sittonbull Nov 22, 2009 @ 10:01 am
    Thanks for these great pictures and information on the RTH Kiwis. I just found out the RTH or Falcon is my totem from the lens Bevspaper did called, What is your Totem? I am grateful to live in the country and see them quite often.
  • Reply
    sittonbull sittonbull Nov 22, 2009 @ 10:01 am
    Thanks for these great pictures and information on the RTH Kiwis. I just found out the RTH or Falcon is my totem from the lens Bevspaper did called, What is your Totem? I am grateful to live in the country and see them quite often.
  • Reply
    JohannTheDog JohannTheDog Jul 8, 2009 @ 8:19 am
    Interesting lens! We had one of those hawks in our backyard once, I barked it away, BOL!!!
  • Reply
    aj2008 aj2008 Apr 24, 2009 @ 2:13 pm
    We dont have red tailed hawks here in the UK but we do have red kites. They are now protected and are making a comeback. Up until 10 years ago they were only found in Wales but now we have a family of four that frequently soar over our house - it is a fabulous sight!

    Beautiful lens and thank you for adding to my plexo.
  • Reply
    TeaLady TeaLady Mar 17, 2009 @ 7:42 pm
    Red Tailed Hawks are very special to me!!
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by kiwisoutback

Hi! The Red Tailed Hawk is one of the most common hawks in North America and is very versatile. It has adapted well to encroachment of their habitat b...

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