red-tailed hawk: Quick Facts

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Last updated

Oct. 6, 2026

Facts

Also Known As	Buteo jamaicensis

Photos and Videos

Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) with wings spread and talons extended, preparing to land against a pale blue sky.

A red-tailed hawk, Buteo jamaicensis, with wings spread on the ground facing a long black snake in a grassy, sandy area.

Red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis).

Illustrations of eight bird heads, each showing a different bill shape adapted for feeding: a hooked bill for tearing flesh on a red-tailed hawk, a cone-shaped bill for cracking seeds on a northern cardinal, a flat bill for catching fish on a roseate spoonbill, a spear-like bill for jabbing prey on a great blue heron, a chisel-like bill for digging insects on a northern flicker, a large pouch bill for scooping fish on a brown pelican, a narrow bill with toothlike edges for catching fish on a hoo

Watch a North American raccoon scale a tree to steal eggs from a red-tailed hawk's nest

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