The red-tailed hawk is 18-26 inches (45.7-66 cm) in length with a wingspan of 3.6-4.3 feet (1.1-1.3 m). It weighs 2-4 pounds (0.91-1.8 kg).
It is dark brown to gray-brown on its back and on the top of its wings. It has light brown or cream undersides and a cinnamon-colored neck and chest. It has a dark band across its belly and a broad, round, rusty-red tail. The female is larger than the male.
The red-tailed hawk lives in deciduous forests and open areas like swamps, deserts, tundra, plains, and agricultural areas.
t prefers places with high perches that it can use to search for food. It can often be seen sitting on telephone poles and wires, looking for prey.
The red-tailed hawk soars over open land searching for prey like small rodents. It has excellent eyesight and can see the slightest movement in the grass below.
It uses its sharp talons to kill its prey. It may also hunt fish and reptiles.
Breeding season begins in March and can run through May. Red-tailed hawks reach breeding age when they are three years old. During courtship, both the male and female engage in an aerial display where they glide and soar in circles and then fold their wings in and plummet to the treetops. Red-tailed hawk pairs mate for life.
Both the male and female build a nest of sticks high in a tree or on a cliff. The same nest may be used for many years.
The female lays 2-3 eggs and incubates them for about 30 days. The male brings the female food during incubation. Both parents care for and feed the young. The chicks fledge when they are about 45 days old.
The red-tailed hawk has a lifespan of 15-20 years in the wild. The oldest red-tailed hawk on record lived to be 30 years old.
Red-tailed hawk pairs are very territorial and remain together for years in the same territory. Territories are usually between half a square mile to two square miles. The male flies around the territory and patrols for intruders while the female guards the nesting site.
The red-tailed hawk has a raspy screeching call that is often used in film and television as the call of eagles and other raptors.
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The red-tailed hawk is a year-round resident in southern New Hampshire. It breeds in the central and northern parts of the state.
It is a protected species in the state.
The red-tailed hawk breeds in most parts of the United States and Canada south to Mexico and Central America.
Birds in the northernmost part of its range may migrate south in the winter.
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