Red-tailed Hawk

Buteo jamaicensis

Summary

The red-tailed hawk is probably the most common hawk in the United States, and is found throughout Pennsylvania. You’ve probably seen them perched in trees and poles along highways, where they’re likely either resting or scanning the ground looking for their next meal. Unfortunately this makes them susceptible to vehicle collisions while they are hunting along roadways.

Red-tailed hawks are considered partial migrants, which means that a portion of the entire population (usually from the northernmost parts of their range) migrates south during their non-breeding season, while others do not migrate. Pennsylvania has both migratory and non-migratory red-tailed hawks!

Learn more about red-tailed hawks here.

More Details

FAMILY

Accipitridae (Hawks and Eagles)

IDENTIFICATION

Red-tailed Hawks show a lot of variation in plumage (feather) pattern and coloration across their range. In Pennsylvania, they are usually brown on their heads and across their entire backsides, with a faint to moderate dark "belly band" across their chest. Juveniles have a brown tail, while adults have the distinctive reddish tail for which the species is named. This tail is often visible when birds are perched or are turning in flight.

HABITAT

They inhabit woodlots and a wide variety of open habitats including agricultural areas, towns and cities, scrubby areas, and forest edges.

DIET

Carnivorous (feed on other animals). They feed on a wide variety of prey, depending on where they live. In Pennsylvania their diet largely consists of rodents and other small mammals as well as snakes.

Ecosystem Connections

Red-tailed hawks are important for helping to control populations of rodents, rabbits, and other small mammals.

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