Red Shouldered Hawk

Appearance:

Length: 16.9-24.0 in
Weight: 17.1-27.3 oz
Wingspan: 37.0-43.7 in

Adults are colorful hawks with dark-and-white checkered wings and warm reddish barring on the breast. The tail is black with narrow white bands. Immatures are brown above and white below streaked with brown. They are medium-sized, with broad, rounded wings and medium-length tails that they fan out when soaring. All ages show narrow, pale crescents near the wingtips in flight.

Habitat:

The red-shouldered hawk inhabits bottomland hardwoods and mixed pine hardwood stands with small scattered openings and water sources. These openings could be power line rights-of-way, small fields, clear cuts, or even woods roads. They can often be found on power-lines while driving.

Behavior:

Red-shouldered Hawks soar over forests or perch on tree branches or utility wires. Its rising, whistled kee-rah is a distinctive sound of the forest. They hunt small mammals, amphibians, and reptiles either from perches or while flying.

The red-shouldered hawk is typically a monogamous breeder. Both sexes help construct the nest and tend to use the same nest year after year. The nests are typically found in the top of hardwoods or pines and are usually 20 to 100 feet off the ground. The nest is large and deep, and constructed with sticks, grass, shredded bark, leaves, green sprigs, and other similar material. Two to three white eggs with brown or lavender blotches are laid once a year between April and July. Incubation will start after the first or second egg is laid and will last anywhere from 28 to 33 days. Each egg will hatch at a different time. Once hatched, it will take 39 to 45 days for chicks to be fledged and ready to leave the nest. However, fledged chicks are still fed by the adults for another nine to ten weeks. It usually takes approximately 17 to 19 weeks from hatching for the young to become completely independent of the adults. Sexual maturity is reached when the bird is approximately one year old. Average life span for red-shouldered hawks is 24 to 26 months.