Red-shouldered Hawk

Overview

The red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus) is a medium-sized buteo found primarily in eastern North America, along the California coast, and in central and northeastern Mexico. It is a forest raptor that is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, although its populations have declined significantly since 1900 due to deforestation and habitat loss.

Identification

• Males are 38 to 58 cm long and females are slightly larger at 47 to 61 cm, with a wingspan of 90 to 127 cm.
• Adults feature brownish heads, reddish chests, pale bellies with reddish bars, and long tails marked with narrow white bars.
• Red 'shoulders' are visible when perched, and the birds have long yellow legs.
• They produce a distinctive, screaming kee-aah call, usually repeated three to four times.
• Juveniles can be distinguished by their long tails, crescent-like wing markings, and a flapping, Accipiter-like flight style.

Habitat

These hawks are forest raptors that favour bottomland hardwood stands, flooded deciduous swamps, and upland mixed deciduous–conifer forests in the east, while western populations inhabit riparian and oak woodlands. They typically reside in stands with an open subcanopy to facilitate hunting and occasionally occupy suburban areas where buildings are mixed into woodlands. The species is a permanent resident throughout most of its range, though northern populations migrate to central Mexico.

Diet

Red-shouldered hawks search for prey from perches or while soaring, killing it by dropping directly from the air or diving from heights in clearings. Small mammals, especially rodents such as voles, gophers, and mice, are their most common prey, though they also consume amphibians, reptiles, birds, fish, and large insects. In winter, they may prey on birds at feeders, and in some regions, crayfish form an important part of their diet.

Did you know?

In Florida, red-shouldered hawks sometimes collaborate peaceably with American crows, a species that is usually an enemy to other birds due to its egg-hunting habits, to cooperatively mob mutual predators such as great horned owls and red-tailed hawks.