Red-tailed Hawk —Ross Feldner

Red-tailed Hawks are common throughout America. You will often see them perched on a pole, soaring overhead, or your may just hear a distant, high-pitched "kkeeer." These raptors have extremely keen eyesight, binocular vision, and powerful talons for grabbing prey, as well as a razor-sharp beak. They can see normal colors, like humans can, but their vision extends into the ultraviolet range meaning that the hawks can perceive colors that humans cannot see.

Red-tailed Hawks are one of the largest North American hawks and obviously get their name from their rusty red tail. They were first identified in Jamaica, West Indies which is how it got its species name, jamaicensis. They are also referred to as chicken-hawks or Harlan’s Hawk.

Despite its strength and soaring ability, red-tails perch in wait for prey rather than soaring overhead They most often fly powerfully from a perch and then glide and grab their meal from the ground. It’s a hard life for these birds. The hawk has to find the prey, catch it, and defend it from other raptors—Golden Eagles, Bald Eagles, and Ferruginous Hawks—long enough to eat it. Half of all red-tails do not make it through their first year of life.