Red-tailed Hawk (also known as the chicken hawk or red tail)

A striking brown and white barred wing feather belonging to one of North America's most recognizable raptors. The Red-tailed Hawk is a large, bulky bird of prey with broad, rounded wings and a short, wide tail that typically shows a rusty-red coloration in adults. They are master soarers, frequently seen perched on roadside poles or wheeling in wide circles high above open fields.

Rich chocolate brown with distinct, clean white barring and mottling along the vane, featuring a pale cream-colored central rachis

Pennaceous vane with tightly interlocked barbs and barbules near the leading edge, showing some slight fraying and separation of barbs along the lower edge

Stiff, smooth, and glossy along the pennaceous vanes, providing aerodynamic rigidity for soaring flight

Distinctive alternating chocolate brown and crisp white horizontal barring across a broad vane with a sturdy, pale cream-colored central shaft

Found in a remarkably diverse array of habitats including deserts, scrublands, urban areas, agricultural fields, coniferous and deciduous forests, and tropical rain forests

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

Acts as a crucial apex avian predator helping to regulate populations of small to medium-sized mammals, particularly rodents and rabbits, serving as a key indicator of ecosystem health

Cooper's Hawk, Swainson's Hawk, and Broad-winged Hawk, but distinguished by its larger size, robust shaft, and specific high-contrast brown-and-white barring pattern

The Red-tailed Hawk's famous piercing scream is frequently used in Hollywood films to sound like any eagle or hawk, regardless of whether the bird on screen is actually a red-tail

Good condition with minor wear and slight barb separation along the lower edge, likely representing a naturally molted feather from a mature adult bird