Photo by Stanley Jones
Camelot Park, Bryan, Brazos County, Texas, USA, September 2014
- Buteo lineatus
Identification
38–47 cm (15-18½ in); females larger
- 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.
Variations
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.
Distribution
Eastern North America and along the coast of California and northern Mexico.
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Five subspecies are accepted[1]:
- B. l. lineatus:
- B. l. alleni:
- South-eastern USA (except southern Florida)
- B. l. extimus:
- Southern Florida
- B. l. elegans:
- Western California, south-western Oregon, and northern Baja California
- B. l. texanus:
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. Observed at heights around 94m.
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.
Vocalisation
Call: Loud, strident repeated cries: keeah, keeah, keeah.
Gallery
Click on photo for larger image
Juvenile
Photo by Stanley Jones
Camelot Park, Bryan, Brazos County, Texas, USA, June 2016
Subspecies lineatus
Photo by Kadawe
Marshfield, Massachusetts, September 2017
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2017. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2017, with updates to August 2017. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved July 2016)
- BF Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Red-shouldered Hawk. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 18 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Red-shouldered_Hawk
External Links
