Red-tailed Hawk

Buteo jamaicensis

The Red-Tailed Hawk is one of the most prominent hawks in North America, with its habitat ranging from Northern Canada during the summer breeding months down to Mexico during the winter months. Year-round it can be commonly found throughout the United States. The Red-Tailed Hawk is a bird of prey, and feasts on mostly small mammals, reptiles, and birds. It tends to be about 18 inches in length with a wingspan of around 48 inches. There are two types of Red-Tailed Hawk, a light form and a dark form. The dark form hawk tends to be dark brown over most of its body, while the light form hawk tends to have a light underbelly with some brown streaking.