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Characteristics

The Red-tailed Hawk is a large hawk with broad wings. They can easily be identified by brick red tail feathers that give this bird its name. The rest of their plumage varies greatly, though generally the back and wings are darker than the rest of the body, ranging from a light auburn to a dark brown. The breast and underbelly can range from a dark brown to a light buff color, with streaking on the belly, and the wings have a variable sized dark bar on the underside. The cere, foot and leg are bright yellow. The beak is short and hooked. Females are about 25% larger than males. Immature birds have lighter eyes and grayer tails and heavily streaked plumage.

Species Specifics

There are at least 14 known subspecies of the Red-tailed Hawk, and as many as 16 depending on the source. They are differentiated based on color morph and where they breed and spend the winter. The lighter morph makes up almost all of the Red-tailed Hawks in eastern North America, while in the west there is much more variation.

Physical Characteristics

Red-tailed Hawks have a sharply hooked beak and strong, curved talons. These act like the hawk’s knife and fork. When hunting, the Red-tailed Hawk will use its talons to catch, subdue, and kill their prey. Then they hold their prey against a perch with their talons and use their beak to tear off pieces of meat. The relaxed Red-tailed Hawk foot and talon is closed. To open their talons to catch food or during courtship flights, they must consciously open their feet. The trigger to close the talons is when the pads on their feet touch either a perch or food, and then the foot snaps closed. This drives the talons into their prey with enough force to kill, or helps them land stably. Red-tailed Hawks have a grip strength of about 200 pounds per square inch (psi)!

Habitat

The Red-tailed Hawk inhabits a wide range of habitats and altitudes. They can be found in scrub lands, arid deserts, mountain grasslands and prairies, open coniferous and deciduous woodlands, pastures and agricultural fields, urban areas and tropical rainforests. They prefer open areas and will nest at edges of woodlands.

Distribution

The home range of a Red-tailed Hawk pair can vary greatly in size, from 0.85 square km to 5.2 square kilometers. The size depends on the habitat, food availability, the season, and number of perches and possible nest sites. Typically the larger territories are found in areas with scarcer resources, and smaller territories are resource-rich. The breeding density (pairs/sq. km.) of Red-tailed Hawks ranges from 0.03 (in Utah) to 0.78 (in California).