Red Tailed

Red Tailed Hawk

(Buteojamaicensis)

Photographed in the wild, Phoenix, AZ  Mar 2009

Photographed in Holguin, Cuba  May 2018

The Red-Tailed Hawk is about 19-23 inches long. It weighs about 2.5 pounds with wingspan to 4.5 feet. The plumage (feathers) varies a bit, but is generally brown to grey brown with paler markings, and with a white chest. The tail feathers are red-brown with a square-cut.

The Red-Tailed Hawk is a carnivore (a meat-eater) who often catches its prey while flying, killing it with sharp talons as you can see above. The Red-Tailed Hawk's large nest is built out of sticks, bark and leaves, and is located high in a tree. 

The female lays 1-5 white eggs laid at one time speckled with brown in each clutch. Both parents incubate the eggs.

These hawks are found along edges of open forest, a common sight over open fields, often, seen perched in the lower section of a tree, watching for any movements below. Seen from Newfoundland/Labrador to Alaska, down into southern California, to the tip of Florida, into southern Central America and on to the Caribbean Islands like Cuba.

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Red Shoulder

Red Shoulder Hawk

Buteolineatus

Photographed in the wild, Kissimmee, FL         Mar 2011

A common forest-dwelling hawk of the East and California, the Red-shouldered Hawk favors woodlands near water. It is perhaps the most vocal American hawk.

The Red-shouldered Hawk is a medium to large hawk measuring 15 to 19 inches in length and a wingspan of 3 to 3 ½ feet. Adults have a brown head and a red tinted chest. Their belly is pale in color with reddish bars.

Unlike most hawks, the Red-shouldered Hawk hunts from a low-lying perch. They sit quietly, waiting and watching, until prey wanders into their line of sight. Once spotted, the prey doesn't have a prayer. The Red-shouldered Hawk swoops down and grabs his dinner. It is a very fast and efficient bird of prey.

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Harris' Hawk

Harris’ Hawk 

(Parabuteounicinctus) 

Photographed at Animal Kingdom, Orlando, FL        Mar 2011

The Harris hawk is a mostly brownish-black hawk (18-23") with light brown coloured shoulders and thighs. White is on the rump and base and tip of the long tail. It has a 40-inch wingspan.  Immature hawks look like the adults but are more streaked.

Harris is generally silent but has a low harsh voice. These birds inhabit semi-arid woodland and brush land in scrub with mesquite, saguaro and yucca. Females lay 2-4 whitish spotted brown eggs in a nest built of sticks lined with grass, located low in small brush, cacti or trees.

Located in the southwest United States, south to Argentina, they prey on lizards, jack rabbits, quail, or snakes. The birds hunt in family groups and share the food they take. They have also been known to feed on carrion. 

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Coopers

Hawk (Cooper’s)

 (Parabuteo unicinctus)

Photographed in the wild, Marco Island, FL       Mar 2012

Among the bird world’s most skillful fliers, Cooper’s Hawks are common woodland hawks that tear through cluttered tree canopies in high speed pursuit of other birds. You’re most likely to see one prowling above a forest edge or field using just a few stiff wing beats followed by a glide. With their smaller lookalike, the Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper’s Hawks make for famously tricky identifications. Both species are sometimes unwanted guests at bird feeders, looking for an easy meal (but not one of sunflower seeds).

Look for Cooper’s Hawks to fly with a flap-flap-glide pattern typical for their short wings and long tail. Even when crossing large open areas they rarely flap continuously. Another attack maneuver is to fly fast and low to the ground, then up and over an obstruction to surprise prey on the other side.

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Hawks

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