ECBIO at PhilaU
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
Common name: Red-tailed Hawk
Scientific name: Buteo jamaicensis
Picture taken in Philadelphia, PA near Rittenhouse Town.
Location: Canada, parts of Mexico, and year round in all 50 states
ID: From above, the tail of the hawk is red. From below, the tail looks pale. The bird has a white breast with a band of darker streaks on the belly. (Peterson 1980)
Red-tailed hawks are opportunistic hunters and are known to prey on anything from birds, to reptiles, to small insects.Their primary prey are small mammals, and they have also been known to capture some domesticated animals if they fit their size limits (anything around the size of a jackrabbit or racoon.) So keep an eye on your pets!
For more information from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-Tailed_Hawk/id
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
Common name: Red-tailed Hawk
Scientific name: Buteo jamaicensis
Picture taken in Philadelphia, PA near Rittenhouse Town.
Location: Canada, parts of Mexico, and year round in all 50 states
ID: From above, the tail of the hawk is red. From below, the tail looks pale. The bird has a white breast with a band of darker streaks on the belly. (Peterson 1980)
Red-tailed hawks are opportunistic hunters and are known to prey on anything from birds, to reptiles, to small insects.Their primary prey are small mammals, and they have also been known to capture some domesticated animals if they fit their size limits (anything around the size of a jackrabbit or racoon.) So keep an eye on your pets!
For more information from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology: www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-Tailed_Hawk/id