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Red-tailed Hawk
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Real photograph Why we love them
The red-tailed hawk is a large, handsome bird of prey with broad, rounded wings made for soaring. Grown-up hawks have a lovely rusty-red tail, which is how they got their name. When they glide overhead, they spread that tail out like a fan.
Red-tailed hawks live all across North America and down into Central America. You can see them in open fields, grasslands, and deserts, and they often sit right beside busy roads, perched on tall poles as they watch the ground below.
These hawks are skilled hunters. They have excellent eyesight and can spot a tiny mouse or vole from high in the air. Much of the time they hunt by sitting patiently on a perch, then swooping down to catch small animals like mice, rabbits, squirrels, snakes, and other birds with their strong feet.
One of the most famous things about the red-tailed hawk is its voice. It makes a long, piercing, whistling cry that sounds a bit like a steam whistle. Filmmakers love the sound so much that they often play it in movies for other birds, even mighty bald eagles.
Red-tailed hawks are doing very well. They have spread into new places over the last hundred years as farms and open country give them plenty of room to hunt, so there are lots of these graceful birds circling the skies today.
My home
Open country, grassland, woodland, desert, roadside
Where I live
North America
What I eat
Mice, voles, rabbits, squirrels, snakes, birds
How long I am
0.45–0.65 m
How heavy I am
0.69–2 kg
How long I live
10–25 years
The red-tailed hawk is named for its wide, rusty-red tail, which grown-up birds spread out like a fan as they glide through the sky.
A red-tailed hawk's piercing, whistling cry is so famous that films and TV shows often play it for other birds, even bald eagles.
These hawks have wonderful eyesight and can spot a small mouse on the ground while soaring high above.
Every red-tailed hawk can feel happy, scared and loved — just like you.
Looking after my friends
How many are there?
Partners in Flight estimated about 1.2 million red-tailed hawks in the United States and Canada.
This estimate covers the United States and Canada, not the species' entire range into Mexico and Central America.
Estimate source: Partners in Flight Landbird Conservation Plan 2016
How are they doing?
Lower extinction riskThis species has a lower global extinction risk right now. Local populations can still grow or shrink.
You can help by learning their names, keeping wild places clean, and telling someone why this animal matters.
Where this came from
- Buteo jamaicensis (Red-tailed Hawk) — Red List Assessment — IUCN Red List of Threatened Species / BirdLife International (Red List Authority for birds)
- Buteo jamaicensis (red-tailed hawk) — Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
- Red-tailed hawk — Wikipedia
- Partners in Flight Landbird Conservation Plan 2016 — Partners in Flight
