Red-tailed Hawk (Common Red-tail, Hen Harrier)

The Red-tailed Hawk is a robust, powerful raptor with broad wings and a short, wide tail. Adults typically feature a rich brick-red tail contrasting with pale underparts and a dark brown speckled belly band. They are masters of soaring flight, frequently utilizing thermal updrafts to scan open terrain for small mammals and reptiles.

Rich chocolate brown coloration with subtle darker transverse banding (barring) visible toward the tip, and a pale cream or whitish central rachis.

Tightly interlocked pennaceous barbs with strong hooklets ensuring high rigidity for flight, minimal plumulaceous base, and intact condition with slight wear.

Stiff, smooth, and matte texture with high rigidity along the vane, designed to withstand strong air currents without bending.

Rich brown coloration, sturdy pale rachis, subtle dark barring, and broad secondary flight feather proportions characteristic of a large Buteo hawk.

Extremely adaptable, inhabiting deserts, scrublands, urban areas, agricultural fields, deciduous and coniferous forests, and grasslands.

Widespread throughout North America, ranging from Alaska and northern Canada down through the United States, Mexico, and Central America, and into the Caribbean.

As apex avian predators, Red-tailed Hawks play a vital role in regulating rodent populations and maintaining balanced food webs in diverse ecosystems.

Swainson's Hawk, Ferruginous Hawk, and Rough-legged Hawk. Distinguish by subtle differences in barring patterns, exact coloration nuances, and overall size proportions.

Red-tailed hawks have extraordinary vision, capable of spotting a mouse from a height of 100 feet. Their iconic piercing scream is frequently used in Hollywood films to sound like any eagle or hawk, regardless of which bird is actually on screen.

Good condition; the feather is intact with minor wear along the vane edges and slight fraying on one side, indicating normal aging or natural molt.