“I stood only 20 yards away, camera in hand, as the mighty Red-tailed hawk dropped from the light pole to the nest of a Killdeer family on the ground. It stood over the two new hatchlings as the adult Killdeer parents whistled frantically and faked injury to draw the Red-tail’s attention away from the nest. It didn’t work. With a loud scream of dominance, the Red-tailed Hawk picked up one of the young chicks by the head and took flight to the nearest light pole and devoured it. What a rush! I was excited and sad at the same time. The rush of a successful hunt! The mourning of the death of a newborn Killdeer!
ScientificName - Buteo jamaicensis RANGE - North America, Central America & Northern South America LIFESPAN - 21.5 years wild (Avg.10-20) 29 years in captivity
HEIGHT - 17 to 25.5 inches WINGSPAN - 36" to 56" average 48"
STATUS - Doing Well
PROTECTION - Protected U.S. Migratory Bird Act
Perched in a dead tree on the edge of a field, on the light post at a baseball park or soaring high in the sky, the Red-tailed Hawk is doing well in Tennessee and across North America, Central America and into northern South America. This magnificent raptor is quite the predator and helps control rodent and rabbit populations. Like all hawks, the talons are its main weapons. And with eyesight 8 times as powerful as a human eye, the Red-tailed Hawk is one of nature’s best hunters. Diets include mice, rats, snakes, rabbits, lizards and smaller birds. Male red-winged blackbirds are very common prey because they are so visible while guarding their nests. As with all raptors, pellets are regurgitated and food-habit studies are easily carried out. The Red-tailed Hawk is a master of soaring and takes advantage of updrafts and thermals. In cooler weather, when thermals aren't available, these birds rely on perch hunting from trees, telephone poles, etc. Red-tailed hawks reach sexual maturity at the age of three years and begin breeding. They are monogamous and usually only change mates if their original mate dies. During the Spring courtship, the male and female soar in circles together for 10 to 20 minutes then land on a perch and preen each other. The female then tilts forward, allowing the male to mount her. Copulation lasts 5 to 10 seconds. About 30 days later, usually the first week of April, the female lays 1 to 5 eggs (3 on average). Both adults incubate the eggs and 28-35 days later the young hatchlings appear. During the nestling stage, the female broods the chicks and the male provides most of the food. The female feeds her young by tearing the food into small pieces. The chicks take their first flight from the nest around 45 days after hatching. They stay with the adults for another 6 to 7 weeks, learning to fly & hunt for themselves. On average, independence comes just 10 weeks after hatching. The Red-tailed Hawk lives an average of 10 to 20 years, with known records of 21 ½ years in the wild and 29 years in captivity. They grow to weigh 2 to 4 pounds at maturity with the female being 25% bigger than the male. The Red-tailed Hawk grows in length to between 17 and 25.5 inches and with a wingspan avering 48 inches they are easy to spot in the sky. After the second year the tail turns red making it even easier to identify. Adult red-tailed hawks are formidable birds and have few predators. Most predation on this species occurs to eggs and nestlings. Great Horned Owls are known predators of Red-tailed hawk chicks. Currently, the greatest threats to red-tailed hawk populations are shootings, collisions with automobiles and human interference with nesting activities. Lead poisoning from eating prey that contains lead shot will kill a number of red-tailed hawks each year. Red-tailed hawks are protected under the U.S. Migratory Bird Act and hunting them is illegal. Communication amongst these birds is both vocal and visual. Adult red-tailed hawks make what is called a horse scream, "kee-eeeee-arr" and is often described as sounding like a steam whistle. The length and pitch of this call varies with the age, gender and geographic region of the red-tailed hawk. Young red-tailed hawks communicate with their parents by making soft, low "peep"-ing sounds. As they get older, the sounds deepen in tone and are usually sounds of hunger. Red-tailed hawks also communicate with body language. In an aggressive posture, the body and head of the red-tailed hawk are held upright and its feathers are standing up. In submission, the hawk's head is lower and the feathers are smooth. Red-tailed hawks also display aerial behaviors or communications. In the talon-drop, while courting, they swoop down trying to touch one another with their talons. “Undulating-flight” is an up and down movement that is mainly used in territorial display as well as the “dive-display” where the bird performs a steep dive. Red-tailed hawks are considered by some to be a sign of good luck.
