Red-shouldered Hawk (including Florida and California subspecies)

This is a secondary feather from a medium-sized hawk characterized by its 'checkerboard' wing pattern. The adult bird features a rufous (orange-red) breast and distinctive red patches on the 'shoulders' (lesser coverts). In flight, they show translucent crescents near the wingtips

Boldly banded with alternating dark brownish-black and crisp white-to-cream bars. The dorsal surface shows high contrast, while the ventral surface (visible in backlighting) appears more translucent. The tip is dark

Densely pennaceous throughout most of the vane for flight efficiency; transition to plumulaceous (downy) texture near the base (calamus); barbs are mostly intact but showing minor separation

Smooth and somewhat stiff to the touch; the surface has a slight matte-to-satiny sheen, typical of water-resistant raptor feathers

High-contrast black and white banding; rounded tip; lack of heavy gray mottling found in larger hawks; consistent width of bands across the vane

Deciduous and mixed woodlands, often near water sources like rivers, swamps, and flooded forests; also increasingly common in suburban areas with mature trees

Year-round resident in the Eastern United States and along the coast of California and Baja California; northern populations (e.g., Great Lakes region) are migratory

Apex predator of the forest mid-canopy; feeds on small mammals, amphibians, and reptiles (snakes), helping to control rodent and herpetofauna populations

Broad-winged Hawk (shorter, fewer bands), Red-tailed Hawk (adults have red tails, juveniles have thinner, more numerous bands), and Cooper's Hawk (longer, more narrow tail feathers with different banding)

Red-shouldered Hawks are highly vocal, often giving a 'kee-aah' call that Blue Jays frequently mimic. They are known for returning to the same nesting territory year after year, sometimes for decades

Good condition; showing slight wear at the tip and some barb separation on the trailing edge, suggesting it may be a molted feather from the late summer or early fall