Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 16.9–24 in
43–61 cm - Wingspan
- 37–43.7 in
94–111 cm - Weight
- 17.1–27.3 oz
486–774 g
Other Names
- Buse à épaulettes (French)
- Bavil an ranero (Spanish)
Cool Facts
- The Red-shouldered Hawk is divided into five subspecies. The four eastern forms contact each other, but the West Coast form is separated from the eastern forms by 1600 km (1000 mi). The northern form is the largest. The form in very southern Florida is the palest, having a gray head and very faint barring on the chest.
- Although the American Crow often mobs the Red-shouldered Hawk, sometimes the relationship is not so one-sided. They may chase each other and try to steal food from each other. They may also both attack a Great Horned Owl and join forces to chase the owl out of the hawk's territory.
- By the time they are five days old, nestling Red-shouldered Hawks can shoot their feces over the edge of their nest. Bird poop on the ground is a sign of an active nest.
- The Great Horned Owl often takes nestling Red-shouldered Hawks, but the hawk occasionally turns the tables. While a Red-shouldered Hawk was observed chasing a Great Horned Owl, its mate took a young owl out of its nest and ate it.
Habitat
Forest
Forests with open understory, especially bottomland hardwoods, riparian areas, and flooded swamps.
Food
Mammals
Small mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and crayfish.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 2–5 eggs
- Egg Description
- Dull white or faint bluish with brown blotches and markings
- Condition at Hatching
- Helpless, eyes open, covered in buffy brown down.
Nest Description
Nest a large bowl of sticks, dried leaves, strips of bark, Spanish moss, lichens, and live conifer twigs. Lined with fine bark, mosses, lichens, and conifer twigs. Placed in main crotch of tree, often near water.
Nest Placement
Tree
Behavior
Soaring
Drops on prey from perch in canopy. May hunt from ground to catch mammals in burrows, hopping after them when they come out.
Conservation
Least Concern
The clearing of forests over the last two centuries probably led to decreases in populations of the Red-shouldered Hawk, while increasing habitat for the Red-tailed Hawk. Populations appear stable, but may be declining in some areas.
Credits
- Crocoll, S. T. 1994. Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus). In The Birds of North America, No. 107 (A. Poole, and F. Gill, eds.). The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, PA, and The American Ornithologists' Union, Washington, D.C.