Red-tailed Hawk

This feather represents the classic 'barred' look of a Red-tailed Hawk's wing. The bird is a large Buteo with broad, rounded wings and a short, wide tail. Adults are famous for their brick-red upper tail, but their wing feathers—like this one—retain a brown-and-cream barred pattern regardless of age.

Base color is a creamy white to buff, becoming dark chocolate brown at the tip. It features 4-5 distinct dark brown transverse bars (banding) across the vane on a lighter mottled background.

Mostly pennaceous and tightly interlocked toward the tip and outer edges, becoming plumulaceous (downy) at the base (superior umbilicus) for insulation.

Smooth and firm on the pennaceous vane with a matte finish; the feathers are stiff to withstand air pressure during flight. The base is soft and silky.

Bold dark brown subterminal banding, rounded tip, thick yellowish rachis, and the transition to a fluffy base.

Highly adaptable: found in open grasslands, agricultural fields, deciduous forests, deserts, and increasingly in urban and suburban parklands.

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

Apex predator; serves a vital role in controlling rodent and rabbit populations. They are key indicators of ecosystem health.

Red-shouldered Hawk (typically has thinner, more frequent white bars), Cooper's Hawk (straighter, more narrow), or Rough-legged Hawk (different banding density).

The scream of the Red-tailed Hawk is so iconic and piercing that it is almost always used in Hollywood movies to represent any eagle or hawk, including the Bald Eagle.

Fair to Good. Visible wear and 'zipper' separations in the barbs suggest this was a naturally molted feather that may have spent some time exposed to the elements.