Red-tailed Hawk

The Red-tailed Hawk is a large raptor with broad, rounded wings and a short, wide tail. While adults are famous for their cinnamon-red tails, these feathers likely belong to an immature bird or are the marbled secondary feathers of an adult. They have a heavy body, a white chest with a 'belly band' of dark streaks, and a piercing, rasping scream often used in movies as a generic eagle sound.

Mottled brown and off-white/cream. The feathers show characteristic 'Buteo' banding—broad, irregular dark brown bars across a lighter background. The dorsal side is darker while the ventral side (underside) appears more muted and silvery-white between bars.

Densely pennaceous throughout most of the vane for aerodynamic integrity, with plumulaceous (downy) barbs at the very base (calamus area) for insulation. Barbs are tightly interlocked.

The surface is somewhat matte and smooth, but very stiff. Unlike owl feathers, these lack a velvet-like 'fringe' and are designed for durability and high-speed airflow rather than silent flight.

Broad, rounded tips; distinct brown banding/mottling on a cream base; thick rachis; asymmetrical vane width (leading vs trailing edge).

Extremely versatile: found in open woodlands, grasslands, agricultural fields, deserts, and increasingly in urban parks and highway medians.

Year-round resident across most of North America, from central Alaska and Canada down through Mexico and Central America. Northernmost populations are migratory.

Apex predator and key regulator of rodent and rabbit populations. They serve as an indicator of ecosystem health and environmental toxin levels.

Red-shouldered Hawk (smaller, sharper banding), Broad-winged Hawk (smaller, more uniform bands), and Great Horned Owl (which would have a soft, 'comb-like' leading edge and a velvety texture).

The 'screech' heard in movies for almost every eagle or hawk is actually the recorded call of a Red-tailed Hawk. They are highly territorial and can live over 20 years in the wild.

Fair to Good. Both feathers show significant wear and fraying at the tips ('feather tattered'), likely due to contact with vegetation or old age before molting. One feather has a slight split in the vane.