Camelot Park, Bryan, Brazos County, Texas, USA, September 2014
- Buteo lineatus
Identification
Males 43 to 58 cm. Females 48 to 61 cm.
- Brown head
- Red chest
- Pale belly with reddish bars
- Narrow tail marked with narrow white bars
- Red "shoulder" is visible when the bird is perched
- Upper parts dark with pale spots
- Long yellow legs
- In flight, distinctive translucent crescent near tips of primaries
- Very vocal compared to most other raptors
- Juveniles lack the reddish shoulders and have vertical streaking on the breast. The tail has buff, not white bars. There is some variation in the different subspecies.
Distribution
Eastern North America and along the coast of California and northern Mexico.
Taxonomy
Five subspecies are accepted:
- B. l. lineatus - Southeast Canada, northeast & central east USA
- B. l. alleni -- Southeast USA (except southern Florida)
- B. l. extimus -- Southern Florida
- B. l. elegans -- Western California, southwest Oregon, and northern Baja California
- B. l. texanus -- Southern Texas and far northeast Mexico
The subspecies differ in color intensity, with B. l. extimus the palest, and B. l. elegans the most richly orange; also slight differences in size though this is not useful in the field. There is less plumage variation between the juveniles of the different subspecies.
The California subspecies B. l. elegans is well separated from the rest of the species' range, and has been suggested as a potential species split, though none of the major authorities have accepted this.
Habitat
Deciduous and mixed wooded areas, often near water. Quite common in suburban subdivisions with trees, water features and golf courses.
Behaviour
Breeding
A stick nest is built in a major fork of a large tree and 3 to 4 blotchy marked eggs are laid. They are incubated for 28 to 33 days. The young leave the nest at about six weeks of age, but remain dependent on the parents until they are 17 to 19 weeks old.
Diet
Includes voles, mice and chipmunks, amphibians, reptiles (especially small snakes), small birds and large insects. They usually hunt from a perch.
Call
Loud, strident repeated cries: keeah, keeah, keeah.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Red-shouldered Hawk. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 25 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Red-shouldered_Hawk
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