By Kathleen McCoy
Young Birders is a regular feature of Desert Rivers Audubon Magazine.
A very accommodating bird is the Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis). Shaped somewhat like a football, these large birds are easily seen sitting atop telephone poles, wires, and tree branches. With a body length of about 20” and a wingspan up to 4 feet, at most they only weigh about 3 pounds. They can be seen on their perch for long periods, better for us to see them.
When soaring above open fields these hawks are usually fly leisurely circles on their broad, rounded wings. Flying can be very tiring for such big birds. Flapping such big wings takes a lot of energy. To conserve energy these hawks wait for the sun to heat up the air, creating what’s called a thermal updraft, to give them a boost. They ride these thermals to launch from a perch or to help them spend a long time in the sky while searching for ground movements of small mammals like mice, voles, and rabbits.
Red-tailed Hawks are considered one of the most common hawks in North America, and although identification seems simple (“look for a big bird with a short red tail”), know that although most often the adult tail is reddish and short, the red is not always visible. Red-tailed Hawks also come in many ground colors, such as jet black, chocolate brown and rufous, to nearly white. The belly is usually streaked. The underside of the hawk has dark bars, stretching from the shoulder to the bird’s wrist. The hawk often, but not always, has a distinctive belly band that separates the top and middle part of its chest. A very dark variety of the Red-tailed Hawk is called the Harlan’s Hawk, a black and white northern breeder, which sports a white, brown, and gray tail…not one speck of red!
Red-tailed Hawks are considered one of the most common hawks in North America. They live in forests, deserts, prairies, and even cities! Red-tailed Hawks are year-round residents in Arizona. In late October, they seem more common because they are joined by the Harlan’s, who have migrated from Alaska, Canada, and the upper Midwest.
A fun fact: The Red-tailed Hawk is voice over movie star for the Bald Eagle. The call of eagles is not as impressive. The eagle’s call was replaced with the chilling, rasping scream of the Red-tailed Hawk.
First published in the First Quarter 2023 issue of Desert Rivers Audubon Magazine
