All About The Red Tailed Hawk

The most common hawk in North America is the red-tailed hawk. You may have heard them referred to as a chicken hawk. They have adapted to a variety of ecosystems and will prey on mammals, reptiles, and other birds. They are easy to spot when driving on the highway or hiking in a city park. They will roost on fence posts, street lights, or even telephone poles. You can see they get their name in this educational presentation. The tail, while fairly short, has bright red feathers. There are 14 subspecies that vary in color, but they all have the distinctive red tail. They have broad round wings with distinctive dark bars. The body color can be a dark reddish brown to a creamy white. The wingspan is 3.4 to 4.8 feet. They typically soar to conserve energy and use slow, deep wing beats when flying. Typical flight is 20 to 40 miles per hour, but when they are diving at prey, they can go 120 miles an hour. Interesting fact, sometimes young hawks will come into rehab because they don't slow down soon enough and injure their legs while landing. Scientists call them opportunistic generalists, which basically means they will hunt whatever is available in their range. This one is eating a snake. Science studies show them eating 200 different species depending on their geographic location. That's almost as many species as the great horned owl, another opportunistic hunter. They do prefer rodents, especially those that scavenge in fields such as mice, rabbits, and ground squirrels. Crows will occasionally mob hawks to protect their own nests and also disrupt the hawk from nesting. Red tails make rather untidy nests, typically in tall trees. Females brood while the male supplies her with food. One to three eggs are laid between mid-March and early April. Incubation lasts 28 to 35 days. Babies called iases are altricial, which means they are helpless and without feathers. By week one, the chicks are starting to peck at food, but parents will continue to feed them for seven weeks. Red-tailed hawks have proven to be very aggressive in defending their chicks from any perceived danger. Don't try to get near the nest. These chicks were hatched out on top of the Department of Agriculture building in Washington, D.C. There is a fairly long fledgling period where young chicks learn to fly and capture their own prey. They typically stay near their nests where their parents still occasionally provide food. A female perched on a cactus. Females are 25% larger than males. The bill is short and dark with the well-known hook of a raptor. The female juvenile red hawk. Red tails don't reach maturity until age three. They live an average of 10 to 15 years in the wild. The oldest confirmed red tail is a banded bird in Michigan, died at 30 years, eight months. Captive birds live about 20 years. Red tails live across North America. The purple shows permanent residence, while the orange is the breeding area. Red tails prefer wooded areas next to fields, but have adapted to using urban routes such as fence posts and telephone poles. They also do well in suburban parks. This is the red-shouldered hawk, and they are sometimes confused with the red-tailed hawk. The red-shouldered has a long black tail and light belly band feathers. Rodent poisons are a leading contributor to hawk deaths. The rodent ingests the poison and is then eaten by the hawk, who becomes ill. The scream of the red-tailed hawk is a common sound to moviegoers. Adults have a hoarse scream that lasts one to three seconds. It's often used in movies to replace other birds of prey due to its chilly sound. Maybe we should advocate for them to join the Actors Guild. This is Pixie, my chief research assistant. She enjoys helping with bird videos. Fox Run is a non-profit with a mission to provide community and online education in wildlife conservation, organic gardening, and environmental activities. Pixie and I would greatly appreciate if you would boop that like button and help spread this video to others. Thanks for watching and have a fabulous day!