Red-tailed Hawk (Chicken Hawk, Red-tail)

The Red-tailed Hawk is a robust, heavy-set raptor with broad wings and a short, wide tail. Adults typically feature a rich reddish-brown upper tail, pale breast with a streaked belly band, and sharp piercing eyes. They are masters of soaring thermal currents.

Prominent dark brown or blackish transverse bars and tips on a pale grayish-white or buff background, featuring a robust white-to-light-yellowish rachis.

Pennaceous vane with tightly interlocked barbs and functional barbicels; firm and intact structure with no afterfeather.

Stiff, smooth, and matte finish with firm aerodynamic rigidity along the leading edge and softer flexibility toward the trailing edge.

Distinctive dark brown transverse bars across a pale, grayish-white background on a broad, rounded-tip flight feather with a stout white rachis.

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

Widespread year-round resident across most of North America, stretching from Alaska down through Canada, the United States, and Central America.

Apex avian predator that helps regulate populations of small mammals, rodents, and snakes, acting as a crucial indicator of local ecosystem health.

Cooper's Hawk or Broad-winged Hawk, though their feathers are generally smaller, differently proportioned, and display distinct barring patterns.

Red-tailed Hawks have phenomenal vision, roughly eight times sharper than a human's, allowing them to spot a mouse from 100 feet in the air.

Good condition with minor wear at the tip, intact barbs, and no visible parasitic damage or severe fading.

Found on golf course in Illinois