Red Tail Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

The Red Tail Hawk is one of three species of hawk commonly referred to as the "chicken hawk" (along with the Cooper's Hawk and Sharp-shinned Hawk). The Red-Tail Hawk has several color variations, called "morphs." The Red-Tail Hawk may be light, dark or "rufous" - a word that means reddish color plumage. The Red-Tail gets its name from its broad tail feathers, which are a deep, rusty red color.

The female Red-Tail is up to 25% larger than the male Red-Tail. Females will grow to be about 4 or 5 lbs., with a wingspan of about 4 feet. Red-Tail Hawks have amazing courtship rituals in which they will soar in wide circles. The male will dive down in a steep drop, then shoot up again at nearly as steep an angle. He will repeat this several times, then approach the female from above. The pair will then interlock talons and spiral toward the ground at rapid speed.

The Red Tail can often been found sitting on a high tree branch, tall highway sign or a light pole, 20 to 30 feet up, surveying open ground next to a highway, freeway, field or open plain. When it is doing this, it is using its excellent eyesight to watch for mice, voles or rabbits that may be scurrying in the undergrowth.

Because the Red Tail thrives on the boundaries of human habitation and highways, it has greatly expanded its distribution across North America over the last century, displacing many other hawk species in the process.