Wild Guide: Red-Tailed Hawk

Red-Tailed Hawk

Buteo jamaicensis

Status

Common

Size

Length: 22 inches; wingspan: 50 inches

Distribution

Statewide

The red-tailed hawk is a large hawk, brown above and white below, with a brown-streaked band on the belly. Adults have a rust-red tail with a narrow black band near the end. 

They usually nest in open woodlands or in trees in a grassland and cropland area. They frequently nest within city limits, especially along larger highways that have grass-covered median strips for foraging. Their diet consists of rabbits, squirrels, snakes, and other small animals. They play a vital role in controlling rodent populations.

Life Cycle

Red-tailed hawks are known to pair up and stay together on the same territory for years. Known as Missouri’s earliest nesters amongst hawk species, red-tailed hawks nest in mid-March. They may build a new nest of sticks and bark or renovate the same nest used the year before. Nests that have been used for years may be 3 feet high or more. They add fresh greenery to the nest to repel parasites and hide nestlings, of which there are usually two.

Human Connections

Red-tailed hawks are often used in falconry. Many Native American tribes consider these hawks and their feathers as sacred. American commuters enjoy seeing these “highway hawks,” perched on roadway signs, fence posts, telephone poles, trees, or hay bales, where they watch for prey.