Red-tailed Hawk (Red-tail)

The Red-tailed Hawk is a powerful and robust raptor with broad, rounded wings and a short, wide tail. Adults typically feature a rich brick-red tail contrasting with pale underparts and a characteristic dark 'belly band' formed by streaked feathers across the abdomen. They are master soarers, often seen circling high above open fields or perching prominently on roadside utility poles.

Rich warm brown and creamy white transverse barring, typical of a morph or juvenile Red-tailed Hawk tail or inner wing flight feather, with a robust pale cream-colored rachis

Strongly pennaceous with tightly interlocked barbs and functional barbicels forming a durable, airtight surface, featuring slight fraying and wear along the outer edges

Stiff, smooth, and durable with a matte finish, designed to withstand high friction and air resistance during powerful soaring flight

Bold brown and white horizontal barring on a stiff, wide vane with a strong pale rachis, characteristic of Buteo wing or tail feathers

Extremely adaptable, inhabiting deserts, scrublands, scrub forest, urban areas, agricultural fields, grasslands, and tropical rainforest edges

Widespread throughout North America, breeding from central Alaska and northern Canada down to Panama and the West Indies

Acts as an apex avian predator helping to regulate populations of small mammals, rodents, and snakes, thereby maintaining balanced local ecosystems

Rough-legged Hawk, Swainson's Hawk, and Ferruginous Hawk feathers can look similar, but can be distinguished by specific widths, barring density, and background coloration tones

Red-tailed hawks have exceptional vision, estimated to be about 8 times sharper than a human's, allowing them to spot a mouse from 100 feet in the air. Their iconic scream is frequently used in Hollywood films to sound like any soaring eagle or hawk, regardless of the bird shown on screen.

Good condition with minor wear and slight fraying along the edges of the distal barbs, indicating it was naturally molted and exposed to the elements for a short period