The Red-tailed Hawk’s round-tipped wings and bulging secondary feathers make the species appear “muscular” in flight. It has a chunky body, broad wings, and a tail that is often spread or fanned in flight. The Red-tailed Hawk, one of the largest open-habitat raptors in North America, exemplifies the classic “buteo” configuration. The Red-tailed Hawk’s propensity to perch in the open made it particularly vulnerable to persecution. As recently as the middle of the 20th Century, the species was blamed for losses of poultry and was labeled the “chicken hawk.” As a result, redtails were commonly shot. Red-tailed Hawks also have benefited from protection from human persecution. In the American West, fire suppression and power lines provide additional perches for hunting. Human actions that have benefited the Red-tailed Hawk in the eastern United States include forest thinning and the construction of the Interstate Highway System, both of which have created prime hunting areas. Red-tailed Hawks have adapted to human landscapes with isolated trees or small woodlots that provide nest sites and elevated perches for hunting, and their numbers have increased in North America in recent years. The reddish or rufous tail of adults makes the species one of the most easily recognized raptors. The fact that they tend to perch and soar in open habitats and tolerate human-dominated environments makes them one of the most frequently observed raptors in the region. Redtails are numerous migrants at many watchsites throughout their North America range. Across its widespread range, this species exhibits remarkable diversity in plumage, habitat use, and hunting ecology, so much that the redtail is often described as a “jack-of-all-trades.” The redtail is a large, stocky buteo found from central Alaska and Canada south to Panama. Both sexes incubate the eggs for four to five weeks, and feed the young from the time they hatch until they leave the nest about six weeks later.The Red-tailed Hawk is characterized by variability and versatility. They make stick nests high above the ground, in which the female lays one to five eggs each year. Red-tailed hawks are monogamous and may mate for life. Later, the birds grab hold of one another with their talons and fall spiraling towards earth. Hawk pairs fly in large circles and gain great height before the male plunges into a deep dive and subsequent steep climb back to circling height. Aerial Dives and Breedingīreeding season initiates a spectacular sequence of aerial acrobatics. They often perch on telephone poles and take advantage of the open spaces along the roadside to spot and seize mice, ground squirrels, rabbits, reptiles, or other prey. But these birds are adaptable and also dwell in mountains and tropical rain forests. Red-tails prefer open areas, such as fields or deserts, with high perching places nearby from which they can watch for prey. By any name, they are keen-eyed and efficient hunters. These birds of prey are also known as buzzard hawks and red hawks. Red-tailed hawks are known for their brick-colored tails, but there are more than a dozen subspecies of various colorations, and not all of them have this characteristic. The first of these hawks to be scientifically studied was found in Jamaica. They are found all over the continent, in Central America, and in the West Indies. These beautiful birds are North America's most common hawks.
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