Red-tailed Hawk (Buzzard, Chicken Hawk)

The Red-tailed Hawk is a robust, powerful raptor with broad, rounded wings and a short, wide tail that is typically brick-red in adults. Females are notably larger than males. They are famous for their soaring flight style and harsh, descending scream call.

Rich chocolate brown base with distinct white to buff-colored barring and mottling along the outer edges, featuring a robust white-tipped apex

Strongly pennaceous with tightly interlocked barbs and well-developed barbicels forming a solid, durable vane; minimal downy area at the extreme base

Stiff, smooth, and slightly glossy on the upper surface with strong rigidity to withstand air resistance during powerful soaring flight

Rich brown coloration paired with bold white spots and bars on the vanes, and a sturdy white-to-cream central rachis

Adaptable and versatile, found in open country, deserts, scrublands, urban areas, deciduous and coniferous woodlands, and agricultural fields

Widespread throughout North America, extending from western Alaska and northern Canada down through Central America and the Caribbean

Acts as an apex avian predator helping to regulate rodent and small mammal populations, serving as a key indicator of healthy terrestrial ecosystems

Cooper's Hawk or Swainson's Hawk, though Red-tailed Hawk feathers are generally larger, broader, and exhibit distinct bold brown and white barring

The Red-tailed Hawk has exceptional eyesight, capable of spotting a mouse from a height of 100 feet, and their iconic screech is frequently used in Hollywood films to signify any bird of prey

Good condition, showing minor wear and slight fraying at the extreme tip, consistent with a naturally molted feather found outdoors

In a field