Red-tailed Hawk (often called a chickenhawk)

A large raptor feather with striking chocolate-brown and pale barring. Red-tailed Hawks are broad-winged soaring birds, usually recognized by their brick-red adult tail, pale underparts, dark belly band, and piercing descending scream.

Warm brown overall with several bold, irregular cream-white crossbars and a dark brown rachis. This pattern is typical of barred remiges or rectrices, but is not uniquely diagnostic of Red-tailed Hawk.

Pennaceous, tightly interlocked barbs with intact hooklets; the vanes are firm rather than fluffy, and no clear aftershaft is visible.

Straight, dark, moderately robust rachis; barbs are dense and regularly angled, with alternating dark brown and pale bands across both vanes.

Smooth, matte to subtly glossy, stiff, and aerodynamic; edges show mild fraying and weathering rather than fresh, silky condition.

Most likely wing secondary or tail; broad vanes and strong transverse barring favor a secondary, though the image does not show enough diagnostic asymmetry for certainty.

Large size, heavy dark rachis, broad barred vanes, and alternating cream-brown bands. Feather identification alone is provisional because several North American buteos share this pattern.

Open country, woodland edges, farmland, deserts, and urban parks; nests commonly occur in tall trees, cliffs, and occasionally large structures.

Widespread across North America, with range extending into Central America and the Caribbean; many northern birds migrate south, while temperate populations are resident.

An important mid-to-apex predator of rodents, rabbits, reptiles, and birds, helping regulate prey populations; it is generally widespread and listed as Least Concern, though habitat loss, rodenticide exposure, and persecution remain concerns.

Red-shouldered Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk, and Northern Harrier can show barred feathers. Exact separation usually requires feather position, size, band spacing, and comparison with reference collections.

Red-tailed Hawks are among North America’s most common raptors and often soar in thermals with wings held in a shallow dihedral. Their famous scream is widely used as a generic raptor sound in films.

Raptor feathers have longstanding cultural significance, especially in Indigenous traditions, but possession of native hawk feathers in the United States is generally regulated under federal law; do not collect or trade wild-found specimens without authorization.

Photograph both sides, measure length and maximum width, and record the find location. Look beneath regular roosts, along woodland edges, and near active nesting areas, but leave wild raptor feathers in place unless legally permitted to possess them.

Good condition overall, though moderately worn at the tip and margins; no obvious oiling, parasites, fault bars, or major breakage are visible.