Length: 18 inches Wingspan: 48 inches Sexes similar Short, dark, hooked beak Large, broad-winged, broad-tailed hawk Immatures have notably narrower wings and tail, and appear slimmer Dark patagial mark on underwing, present on all ages and races, is unique Blocky translucent area in outer primaries Flies with a dihedral Extraordinary geographic variation Courtship/Gestation/Birth: Most hawks build bulky nests of twigs, bark, and leaves high in trees. The eggs are usually white or bluish white, variably blotched and spotted with shades of brown. The young are covered with white down, and are relatively helpless at hatching. They grow slowly, and are dependent on their parents for food even after they have fledged. Diet: mammals including mice, rats, moles, shrews, squirrels, pocket gophers, cottontails, opossums, muskrats, weasels, how cats (70-85%); birds including ducks, coots, pigeons, quail, rails, gallinules, doves, woodpeckers, songbirds, pheasants, crows and rarely poultry (10-15%); reptiles and amphibians (3-10%); fish (.5%); invertebrates (1-5%). |
| Red-tailed hawk Buteo jamaicensis |
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| © GEORGE W. BOWLES, SR. 2004 |
| © GEORGE W. BOWLES, SR. 2004 |
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