Commonly seen and familiar, the red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is a standard by which other typical hawks can be compared.
They characteristically perch on exposed snags, power line poles, and towers in a variety of habitats from coastal shores and lowlands to grasslands, agricultural areas, woodlands, to rocky outcrops, mountain slopes, and out to the desert. Red-tailed hawks are also frequently seen gliding in broad revolving loops in the sky. They have broad and rounded wings and blunt-tipped-to-fanned tail that distinguish them from other soaring birds such as falcons, gulls and ravens. As their common name suggests, adult red-tailed hawks can be identified by their deep reddish-brown tails, sometimes with several thin darker crossbars. Another important field-mark is a dark strip along the leading edge of their wings when seen from underneath. Immature red-taileds have plain brown tails marked with several darker crossbars. Their wings are slightly narrower than the adults, but like them, also show the dark strip along their leading edge when viewed from below. They prey upon cottontail rabbits and ground squirrels, snakes, and even other birds such as doves and quail. Their common call is a high and breathy scream, "KE-Arg-gh-h-h!" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ by Claude G. Edwards

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