Red-tailed Hawk - BirdForum Opus

Photo © by gene
Illinois, USA, 28 February 2004

Buteo jamaicensis

Identification

Juvenile
Photo © by Kadawe
New England, 29 August 2018

Adult: Length 48cm (19in). Wingspan 125cm (49in).
A large, stocky hawk with a whitish breast with dark band, usually rusty tail, and dark leading edge on wing (patagial mark -- seen during flight).

This species is quite variable in colour, especially in the western U.S., where blackish individuals occur; these often retain a rusty or reddish tail. One of the most diagnostic field marks is the "cumberbund"; an area on the middle breast that is usually streaked darker than the rest of the underbody.
Immature: Duller, more streaked, and light brown tail with some dark barring.

Variations

Krider's Hawk (subspecies krideri) is a pink-tailed type from the great plains.

Similar Species

Immature bird showing the first red tail feather molting in
Photo © by gophish
Waterford, New York, USA, 11 January 2010

• Swainson's Hawk has darker chest, less stocky build, and narrower, more pointed wings. However, Harlan's Hawk, harlani, a very dark morph easily confused with the Swainson's Hawk.

Distribution

Year-round over most of the U.S. and Mexico; summers northward throughout the Canadian Provinces and inland Alaska.

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 14 subspecies^[1]:

• B. j. alascensis: south-eastern Alaska and coastal British Columbia
• B. j. calurus (Western): Western North America (west of the Great Plains)
• B. j. borealis (Eastern): North America (east of the Great Plains)
• B. j. harlani (Harlan's): Interior Alaska to south-western Yukon and northern British Columbia
• B. j. kriderii (Krider's): Plains of south-central Canada to north-central US
• B. j. fuertesi (Fuertes's): Texas to northern Mexico
• B. j. hadropus: Highlands of central Mexico
• B. j. kemsiesi: Southern Mexico (Chiapas) to northern Nicaragua
• B. j. costaricensis (Costa Rican): Costa Rica and western Panama
• B. j. fumosus: Tres Marías Islands (off western Mexico)
• B. j. socorroensis: Socorro Island (Revillagigedo Islands off western Mexico)
• B. j. umbrinus: Florida
• B. j. jamaicensis: Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and northern Lesser Antilles
• B. j. solitudinis: Bahamas and Cuba

Two additional subspecies: suttoni, and lucasanus are not recognised by all authorities^[2].

Harlan's Hawk (subspecies harlani) has in the past been considered a separate species, and proposals have been put forward to adopt that treatment again.

Habitat

Kriders – Buteo jamaicensis kriderii
Photo © by Stanley Jones
Chambers County, Texas, USA, 1 February 2021

The most common hawk on the North America continent, B. Jamaicensis frequents woodland edges, soars above plains, and is often seen perched on utility poles where natural perches are not available.

Behaviour

Actions

Often "still hunts" or "kites" by hanging motionless in mid-air.

Diet

Soars or perches, looking for a wide variety of food; small to medium mammals, lizards, frogs, worms, insects, bats, and small birds.

Breeding

Breast & Belly View
Photo © by Victor Vector
Mojave Narrow Regional Park, California, USA, 30 April 2021

Monogamous. They construct a stick nest in trees or cliffs. Clutch of two or three whitish eggs marked indistinctly marked with darker blotches combined with fine speckling.

Vocalisation

Common call is a 2–3 second hoarse scream that rises gradually then descends near the end.

Movements

Subspecies harlani
Melanistic with some leucism
Photo © by Stanley Jones
Marlin, Falls County, Texas, USA, 4 February 2019

Variable: sedentary from southern USA to south edge of range in Central America and Caribbean; migratory in Northern part of range.

Conservation Status

Photo © by bailiff1
Bessemer, Alabama, USA, 16 November 2015

Common and plentiful, some decline due to habitat loss, although it adapts relatively easily to new environments, even urban. Many are still shot illegally for amusement.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Lepage D. (2021) [Avibase - https://avibase.ca/536A5157 ]. Retrieved 9 February 2021
3. Thread in the taxonomy forum discussing Harlan's Hawk
4. White, C.M., Boesman, P. & Marks, J.S. (2019). Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/53135 on 25 November 2019).
5. Global Raptor Information Network. 2019. Species account: Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis. Downloaded from http://www.globalraptors.org on 25 Nov. 2019
6. Clark, W. S. 2018. Taxonomic status of Harlan’s Hawk Buteo jamaicensis harlani (Aves: Accipitriformes). Zootaxa 4425 (2): 223–242. https://doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.4425.2.2
7. Liguori, J., and B. L. Sullivan. 2010. Comparison of Harlan’s Hawks with western and eastern Red-tailed Hawks. Birding 42:30-37.
8. Preston, C. R. and R. D. Beane (2020). Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.rethaw.01

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Red-tailed Hawk. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 12 October 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Red-tailed_Hawk

External Links

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