Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk facts at a glance

How big is a red-tailed hawk?

An adult red-tailed hawk measures 56 cm long — about 32% of the height of an average adult person (1.73 m) — and weighs around 1.2 kg, about 2% of an average adult’s body weight (70 kg).

What is a group of red-tailed hawks called?

Explore more animal collective nouns and baby animal names .

Behavior and hunting

Red-tailed hawks hunt mostly by perching or soaring and then dropping onto prey with their powerful talons. Their eyesight is several times sharper than a human's, letting them spot a mouse from high above. They are highly adaptable and are often seen perched on fence posts, telephone poles, and trees beside highways, watching the grass below.

Appearance and the famous call

Adults are bulky hawks with broad, rounded wings and a short, wide tail that is brick-red on top. Plumage varies widely from pale to dark birds across their range. Their hoarse, screaming "keeeer" is one of the most recognizable bird sounds in film and television, where it is frequently used as the voice of a bald eagle, which actually has a much weaker call.

Habitat and range

The red-tailed hawk is found across nearly all of North America, from Alaska and Canada down through the United States, Mexico, and into Central America and the Caribbean. It thrives in open and semi-open habitats, including grasslands, deserts, farmland, and the edges of cities, which has helped make it one of the continent's most widespread raptors.

Nesting and family life

Pairs often mate for life and return to the same territory year after year, building large stick nests high in tall trees or on cliffs and ledges. The female lays one to three eggs, and both parents share incubation and feeding. Young hawks fledge after about six weeks but may depend on their parents for food for several more weeks.

Did you know? Red-tailed Hawk facts

• The red-tailed hawk is a large bird of prey and the most common hawk in North America, named for the brick-red tail of the adult.
• Red-tailed hawks are carnivores that mainly eat small mammals such as mice, voles, rats, and rabbits. They also take reptiles, smaller birds, and large insects, hunting from a perch or while soaring.
• In normal flight they cruise at around 30 to 65 km/h (20 to 40 mph), but in a hunting dive, called a stoop, a red-tailed hawk can reach speeds of up to about 190 km/h (120 mph).
• The red-tailed hawk has a powerful, raspy scream that sounds suitably fierce, so filmmakers often dub it over images of bald eagles, whose real call is a surprisingly weak, chirpy whistle.
• Wild red-tailed hawks typically live 10 to 15 years, though many die young. In captivity, with steady food and veterinary care, some have lived past 25 years.
• Conservation: Least Concern (IUCN).

Diet & feeding

Red-tailed Hawk feeds primarily as a carnivore (rodents, rabbits, reptiles, birds). Red-tailed hawks hunt mostly by perching or soaring and then dropping onto prey with their powerful talons. Their eyesight is several times sharper than a human's, letting them spot a mouse from high above. They are highly adaptable and

Adaptations

• Red-tailed hawks hunt mostly by perching or soaring and then dropping onto prey with their powerful talons. Their eyesight is several times sharper than a human's, letting them spot a mouse from high above. They are highly adaptable and are often seen perched on fence posts, telephone poles, and trees beside highways, watching the grass below.
• Adults are bulky hawks with broad, rounded wings and a short, wide tail that is brick-red on top. Plumage varies widely from pale to dark birds across their range. Their hoarse, screaming \

Behaviour & ecology

• Red-tailed hawks hunt mostly by perching or soaring and then dropping onto prey with their powerful talons. Their eyesight is several times sharper than a human's, letting them spot a mouse from high above. They are highly adaptable and are often seen perched on fence posts, telephone poles, and trees beside highways, watching the grass below.
• Adults are bulky hawks with broad, rounded wings and a short, wide tail that is brick-red on top. Plumage varies widely from pale to dark birds across their range. Their hoarse, screaming \
• The red-tailed hawk is found across nearly all of North America, from Alaska and Canada down through the United States, Mexico, and into Central America and the Caribbean. It thrives in open and semi-open habitats, including grasslands, deserts, farmland, and the edges of cities, which has helped make it one of the continent's most widespread raptors.

Communication

• Red-tailed Hawk uses calls and visual displays to communicate territory, alarm, and breeding status.
• Vocal repertoires vary by species and are often learned or refined during development.

Habitat & range

Open country, fields, deserts, and roadsides

Ecological role

Red-tailed Hawk acts as a predator that helps regulate prey populations and maintain balance in open country, fields, deserts, and roadsides.

Conservation status of the Red-tailed Hawk

Sources & references

This guide is compiled and reviewed against established zoological and conservation references. Key sources for the Red-tailed Hawk:

• IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

  Conservation status (Least Concern) reflects the IUCN Red List category for Buteo jamaicensis.

• iNaturalist — observations & photos

  Search citizen-science observations and community IDs for Buteo jamaicensis. Useful for range checks and recent sightings — not a substitute for formal Red List status.

• GBIF — occurrence data

  Global Biodiversity Information Facility species search for Buteo jamaicensis. Explore published occurrence records used in range research.

• eBird — bird observations

  Cornell Lab eBird target search for Red-tailed Hawk. Check recent checklists and seasonal abundance where birders report this species.

• IUCN Red List — Buteo jamaicensis.

  Conservation status (Least Concern) and population trends.

• Animal Diversity Web — Buteo jamaicensis. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.

  Life history, morphology, and range.

• Wikipedia — Red-tailed Hawk.

  General taxonomy and overview (cross-check primary sources).

• Global Animal Guide editorial standards

  How we research, source, review, and update every guide for accuracy.