Red-Tailed Hawk Tee

Red-tailed hawks at one time were informally known in the United States as chicken hawks even though they rarely preyed on chickens. Red-tails are the most common raptors, birds of prey, in North America and are found throughout the continent from western Alaska and northern Canada, and south to Panama and the West Indies. They easily adapt to almost any biome and are found at in deserts, coastal regions, mountains, foothills, grasslands, tropical rain forests, farm land, and urban areas. In short, they can live almost anywhere they can find a source of food, a high perch, and a suitable nesting spot. They do not appear to be bothered by human activity and will nest in a crowded human community. They are very capable hunters with sharp vision and feed on rodents, small animals like squirrels, dogs and cats, and other birds. They seem to like pigeons. Something unusual in the animal world, but is common to large raptors, the female is about 25% larger than the male. They generally range from 18 to 26 inches in length, weigh in at 1.5 to 4.4 pounds, and have a wingspan of 43 to 57 inches. Red-tails are the birds most often used for falconry because they are so plentiful and easily trained.