Red-shouldered Hawk

Meet "Red" the Red-shouldered Hawk!

About Red-shouldered Hawks
(Information taken from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology)

A common forest-dwelling hawk of the East and California, the Red-shouldered Hawk favors woodlands near water. It is perhaps the most vocal American hawk.

Description

• Size: 43-61 cm (17-24 in)
• Wingspan: 94-111 cm (37-44 in)
• Weight: 486-774 g (17.16-27.32 ounces)
• Medium-sized to large hawk.
• Wings and tail striped black and white.
• Underparts barred reddish.
• Pale crescent near wingtips in flight.
  
  Rusty red on upper part of wing. In flight, rusty wing coverts contrast with black-and-white striped flight feathers. Tail with several wide dark bands separated by thin white ones; tail pattern light below, dark above. Legs and cere yellow. Eyes black.

Sex Differences

• Sexes look alike; female larger

Immature

• Juvenile in East streaked brown and white on underside, brown above, tail with dark and light brown bands, wing crescent tawny. Juvenile in West similar to adult, with more barring than streaking on underside and distinct tail banding.

Food

• Small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and crayfish.

Range

Summer Range:

• Breeds from Minnesota to New Brunswick, southward to eastern Texas and Florida, and on Pacific Coast from southwestern Oregon into Baja California.

Winter Range:

• Winters throughout much of range below Canadian border.
  

Habitat

• Forests with open understory, especially bottomland hardwoods, riparian areas, and flooded swamps.

Behavior

Foraging:

• Drops on prey from perch in canopy. May hunt from ground to catch mammals in burrows, hopping after them when they come out.

Reproduction

Nest Type:

• Nest a large bowl of sticks, dried leaves, strips of bark, Spanish moss, lichens, and live conifer twigs. Lined with fine bark, mosses, lichens, and conifer twigs. Placed in main crotch of tree, often near water.

Egg Description:

• Dull white or faint bluish with brown blotches and markings.

Clutch Size:

• 2-5 eggs.

Condition at Hatching:

• Helpless, eyes open, covered in buffy brown down.

Conservation Status

• The clearing of forests over the last two centuries probably led to decreases in populations of the Red-shouldered Hawk, while increasing habitat for the Red-tailed Hawk. Populations appear stable, but may be declining in some areas.

Sound

• Call a loud "kee-aah," with second note descending in pitch. Often given repeatedly.

Our Other Educational Birds:

American Kestrel
Bald Eagle
Barn Owl
Barred Owl
Great Blue Heron
Great Horned Owl
Peregrine Falcon
Red Tailed Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Rough Legged Hawk
Snowy Owl
Screech Owl
Trumpeter Swan
Turkey Vulture

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