Red-tailed Hawk

This feather is the signature 'red tail' of an adult Buteo jamaicensis. The bird is a large, stocky hawk with broad, rounded wings and a short, wide tail. Adults have a chocolate-brown back and a pale underside with a streaked 'belly band'. Only adults possess these solid rufous tail feathers; juveniles have brown-and-white banded tails.

Classic adult plumage: warm rufous-brown/brick-red upper surface with a distal black subterminal band and a pale/white tip. The underside is typically a lighter, pinkish-cinnamon.

Tightly interlocked pennaceous barbs throughout most of the vane; plumulaceous (downy) at the base (superior umbilicus) for insulation.

Smooth, stiff, and slightly glossy on the dorsal side; matte and softer on the ventral side. The vane is rigid enough to withstand wind pressure during soaring.

Brick-red/rufous coloration, presence of a dark subterminal band near the tip, and a thick, white-based rachis.

Extremely versatile: open woodlands, agricultural fields, grasslands, desert scrub, and even urban areas with tall buildings or trees for nesting.

Year-round resident across most of North America from central Alaska and Canada south to Panama and the West Indies.

Top-tier avian predator. They control populations of small mammals (voles, mice, rabbits) and reptiles. They are highly adaptable to human-altered landscapes.

Red-shouldered Hawk (smaller, more numerous narrow bands), Ferruginous Hawk (typically whiter tails with less uniform rufous), and Juvenile Red-tailed Hawks (brown/gray banded tail).

The Red-tailed Hawk's scream is so iconic that it is almost always used in Hollywood movies to represent any eagle or hawk, including the Bald Eagle, which actually has a much weaker, chirping call.

Excellent condition. The barbs are mostly intact with minimal fraying, suggesting a recently molted feather. No significant fault bars or sun bleaching visible.