Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)...
...perched in a Magnolia tree.
The Red-shouldered Hawk is a medium-sized hawk and one of our most distinctively marked common hawks. When mature it has barred reddish-peachy underparts and a strongly banded tail with narrow white bars. Juveniles are mostly brown, with thick dark streaks on underparts and usually pale facial markings, including a white eyebrow.
Its breeding range spans eastern North America and along the coast of California and northern to northeastern-central Mexico. Red-shouldered Hawks are permanent residents throughout most of their range, although northern birds do migrate, mostly to central Mexico.
The Red-shouldered Hawk is divided into five subspecies. The four eastern forms contact each other, but the West Coast form is separated from the eastern forms by 1000 miles (1600 km). The northern form is the largest. The form in very southern Florida is the palest, having a gray head and very faint barring on the chest.
Males are 15 to 23 inches (38 to 58 cm) long and weigh on average 1.2 pounds (550 g). Females are slightly larger at 19 to 24 inches (47 to 61 cm) in length and a mean weight of 1.5 pounds (700 g). The wingspan can range from 35 to 50 inches (90 to 127 cm).
Red-shouldered Hawks soar and circle with wings and tail spread out like a typical buteo hawk, but they also flap their wings quickly and glide through forests underneath the canopy, the way an accipiter such as a Cooper’s Hawk does. When hunting, they perch near a wooded water body and watch for their prey to appear below them. In populated areas, such as forested suburban developments, they can become very unconcerned and approachable by people, but in wilder areas they flush easily.
Look for Red-shouldered Hawks in deciduous woodlands, often near rivers and swamps. These forest hawks can often be seen soaring over woodlands or perched on tree branches in search of prey ranging from small mammals to frogs and snakes, and occasionally birds.
ISO1600, aperture f/8, exposure .002 seconds (1/500) focal length 630mm
Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)...
...perched in a Magnolia tree.
The Red-shouldered Hawk is a medium-sized hawk and one of our most distinctively marked common hawks. When mature it has barred reddish-peachy underparts and a strongly banded tail with narrow white bars. Juveniles are mostly brown, with thick dark streaks on underparts and usually pale facial markings, including a white eyebrow.
Its breeding range spans eastern North America and along the coast of California and northern to northeastern-central Mexico. Red-shouldered Hawks are permanent residents throughout most of their range, although northern birds do migrate, mostly to central Mexico.
The Red-shouldered Hawk is divided into five subspecies. The four eastern forms contact each other, but the West Coast form is separated from the eastern forms by 1000 miles (1600 km). The northern form is the largest. The form in very southern Florida is the palest, having a gray head and very faint barring on the chest.
Males are 15 to 23 inches (38 to 58 cm) long and weigh on average 1.2 pounds (550 g). Females are slightly larger at 19 to 24 inches (47 to 61 cm) in length and a mean weight of 1.5 pounds (700 g). The wingspan can range from 35 to 50 inches (90 to 127 cm).
Red-shouldered Hawks soar and circle with wings and tail spread out like a typical buteo hawk, but they also flap their wings quickly and glide through forests underneath the canopy, the way an accipiter such as a Cooper’s Hawk does. When hunting, they perch near a wooded water body and watch for their prey to appear below them. In populated areas, such as forested suburban developments, they can become very unconcerned and approachable by people, but in wilder areas they flush easily.
Look for Red-shouldered Hawks in deciduous woodlands, often near rivers and swamps. These forest hawks can often be seen soaring over woodlands or perched on tree branches in search of prey ranging from small mammals to frogs and snakes, and occasionally birds.
ISO1600, aperture f/8, exposure .002 seconds (1/500) focal length 630mm