Red-tailed hawk

Buteo jamaicensis · The red-tailed hawk is a common bird of prey found across North America, from Alaska and Canada south to Panama and the West Indies.

Also called Red-tailed Buzzard.

Red-tailed hawk
Photo: Becky Matsubara from El Sobrante, California, CC BY 2.0
Red-tailed hawk
Photo: Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0
Red-tailed hawk
Photo: Paul Danese, CC BY-SA 4.0

Taxonomy

KingdomAnimalia
PhylumChordata
ClassAves
OrderAccipitriformes
FamilyAccipitridae
GenusButeo
SpeciesButeo jamaicensis

Where it lives

Open country and woodland from Alaska and Canada to Panama and the West Indies.

Fun facts

  • When diving, a red-tailed hawk may exceed 190 km/h (120 mph).
  • Red-tailed hawks mate for life and only take a new mate if the original one dies.
  • Its fierce, screaming cry is often used as a generic raptor sound effect in TV shows, even when the bird shown is not a red-tailed hawk.
  • Red-tailed hawks sometimes hunt as a team, stalking opposite sides of a tree to trap a squirrel.

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Facts and taxonomy adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).