Red-Tailed Hawk

Fascinating facts about the Red-Tailed Hawk

• Red-tailed hawks can tip the scales at up to 1.6 kg, but most males hover around 0.84 kg while females average about 1.04 kg, a 25 % size gap. This sexual dimorphism is reflected in their measurements: males may weigh from 690 to 1,300 g and females from 900 to 2,000 g, with the species overall ranging from 690 to 1,600 g.
• Red-tailed hawks are monogamous partners for life, swapping mates only when a spouse dies. Their nests, built 4 to 21 m (13 to 69 ft) up in tall trees or on cliffs, are massive bowls 71 to 97 cm (28 to 38 in) across and up to 90 cm (3 ft) tall, reused year after year.
• Even Manhattan's concrete jungle can host a red-tailed hawk: "Pale Male" became the first known red-tail in decades to successfully nest and raise young on the crowded New York City borough. His urban success shows the species' tolerance for human activity and its ability to exploit city perches, turning skyscraper ledges into hunting platforms.
• From western Alaska to the rainforests of Panama, red-tailed hawks breed across the continent, inhabiting deserts, grasslands, coniferous and deciduous forests, agricultural fields and even city streets.
• When a red-tailed hawk dives, it can smash through the sky at over 190 km/h (120 mph), far faster than its cruising glide of 32-64 km/h (40 mph).

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia
• Animal Diversity Web

At a glance

About the Red-Tailed Hawk

As the sun casts its golden glow upon the open plains, the Red-Tailed Hawk soars effortlessly, its broad wings beating in a slow, powerful rhythm that belies its incredible agility. With eyes that scan the landscape like burnished copper, this majestic hunter rides the thermals, a master of the aerial realm, its piercing cry echoing across the landscape as it surveys its kingdom. In a dance of precision and patience, the Red-Tailed Hawk glides, dives, and swoops, a true monarch of the skies, its every movement a testament to its remarkable adaptability and enduring presence in the wild.

Red-Tailed Hawk photographed on Feravox

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