The red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is a bird of prey and one of the most common hawks in North America. In the United States, it is one of three species colloquially known as the "chickenhawk". The red-tailed hawk breeds throughout most of the continent, from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. The red-tailed hawk occupies a wide range of habitats and altitudes, including deserts, grasslands, coniferous and deciduous forests, agricultural fields, and urban areas. It is absent in areas of unbroken forest and in the high arctic. It is legally protected in Canada, Mexico, and the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty. The red-tailed hawk is one of the largest members of the genus Buteo in North America, typically weighing from 690 to 1,600 g (1.5 to 3.5 lb) and measuring 45–65 cm (18–26 in) in length, with a wingspan from 110–145 cm (43–57 in). Females are about 25% heavier than males. It has a stocky body with broad wings and can be distinguished from other North American hawks by the eponymous tail, which is uniformly brick-red above and light buff-orange below. The species feeds on a wide range of small animals, such as rodents, birds, and reptiles. Pairs stay together for life, taking a new mate only when the original mate dies. The pair constructs a stick nest in a high tree, in which a clutch of one to three eggs is laid. The 14 recognized subspecies vary in appearance and range. The subspecies Harlan's hawk (B. j. harlani) is sometimes considered a separate species (B. harlani). Because they are so common and easily trained as capable hunters, most hawks captured for falconry in the United States are red-tailed hawks. The feathers and other parts of the red-tailed hawk are considered sacred to many American indigenous people.
Taxonomy
The red-tailed hawk was scientifically described in 1788 by German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin under the name Falco jamaicensis. Gmelin based his description on the "cream-coloured buzzard" described in 1781 by John Latham in his A General Synopsis of Birds, based on a specimen from Jamaica that a friend had sent to him. The red-tailed hawk is one of 28 species in the genus Buteo, which was named by French naturalist Bernard Germain de Lacépède in 1799. Members of the genus Buteo are medium-sized raptors with robust bodies and broad wings. They are known as "buzzards" in Europe, but as "hawks" in North America. The genus name Buteo is derived from the Latin būteō meaning 'buzzard'. The specific name jamaicensis refers to the island of Jamaica, which derives from the Taíno word Xaymaca meaning 'land of woods and water'. "Red-tailed hawk" is the official English common name designated by the International Ornithologists' Union. In the United States, the red-tailed hawk is one of three species colloquially known as the "chickenhawk", though it rarely preys on adult chickens. The at least 14 recognized subspecies of Buteo jamaicensis vary in range and coloration: The subspecies Harlan's hawk (B. j. harlani) is sometimes considered a separate species (B. harlani).
B. j. jamaicensis, the nominate subspecies, occurs in the northern West Indies. B. j. alascensis breeds (probably resident) from southeastern coastal Alaska to Haida Gwaii and Vancouver Island in British Columbia. B. j. borealis group (eastern red-tailed hawk) breeds from southeast Canada and Maine south through eastern Texas and east to northern Florida. It winters from southern Ontario east to southern Maine and south to the Gulf coast and Florida. B. j. calurus breeds from central interior Alaska, through western Canada south to Baja California. It winters from southwestern British Columbia southwest to Guatemala and northern Nicaragua. Paler individuals of northern Mexico may lack the dark wing marking. B. j. costaricensis is resident from Nicaragua to Panama. This subspecies is dark brown above with cinnamon flanks, wing linings and sides, and some birds have rufous underparts. The chest is much less heavily streaked than in northern migrants (B. j. calurus) to Central America. B. j. fuertesi breeds from northern Chihuahua to southern Texas. It winters in Arizona, New Mexico, and southern Louisiana. The belly is unstreaked or only lightly streaked, and the tail is pale. B. j. fumosus, Islas Marías, Mexico B. j. hadropus, Mexican Highlands B. j. harlani, is markedly different from all other red-tails. In both color morphs, the plumage is blackish and white, lacking warm tones (save the tail). The tail may be reddish, dusky, whitish, or gray and can be longitudinally streaked, mottled, or barred. Shorter primaries result in wingtips that don't reach the tail in perched birds. It breeds in Alaska and northwestern Canada and winters from Nebraska and Kansas to Texas and northern Louisiana. This population may well be a separate species. B. j. kemsiesi is a dark subspecies resident from Chiapas to Nicaragua. The dark wing marking may not be distinct in paler birds. B. j. kriderii is paler than other red-tails, especially on the head; the tail may be pinkish or white. In the breeding season, it occurs from southern Alberta, southern Saskatchewan, southern Manitoba, and extreme western Ontario south to south-central Montana, Wyoming, western Nebraska, and western Minnesota. In winter, it occurs from South Dakota and southern Minnesota south to Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana. B. j. socorroensis, Socorro Island, Mexico B. j. solitudinus, Bahamas and Cuba B. j. umbrinus occurs year-round in peninsular Florida north to Tampa Bay and the Kissimmee Prairie. It is similar in appearance to B. j. calurus.
Description
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