Red-shouldered Hawk

The Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) is a medium-sized hawk. Their breeding range is in eastern North America and along the coast of California and northern Mexico, and northeastern-central Mexico.

Males are 43 to 58 cm (17 to 23 in) long, weigh about 550 g (1.2 lbs) and have a wingspan of 96 cm (38 in). Females are slightly larger at 48 to 61 cm (19 to 24 in) in length, a weight of about 700 g (1.5 lbs) and a wingspan of about 105 cm (42 in). Adults have a brownish head, a reddish chest and a pale belly with reddish bars. Their tail, which is quite long by Buteo standards, is marked with narrow white bars. The red "shoulder" is visible when the bird is perched. Their upper parts are dark with pale spots; they have long yellow legs. Western birds may appear more red; Florida birds are generally paler. The wings of adults are heavily barred on the upper side, less so on the underside. Juvenile Red-shouldered Hawks are most likely to be confused with juvenile Broad-winged Hawks, but can be distinguished by their long tail, crescent-like markings on the wings and their more flapping, Accipiter-like flight style.

Usually, while in forested areas, these birds wait on a perch and swoop down on prey. When in clearings, they sometimes fly low in order to surprise prey. Small mammals are typically the most important prey, with voles, mice and chipmunks locally favored. Other prey can include amphibians, reptiles (especially small snakes), small birds and large insects. During winters, they sometimes habituate to preying on more common birds, such as House Sparrows, Mourning Doves and European Starlings, at bird feeders.

Their breeding habitats are deciduous and mixed wooded areas, often near water. It is while establishing territories that the distinctive, screaming kee-aah call (usually repeated 3 to 4 times) of this bird are heard. The breeding pair build a stick nest in a major fork of a large tree. The clutch size is typically 3 to 4 eggs. The blotchy-marked eggs are typically 54.5 × 43 mm (2.1 × 1.7 in). The incubation period can range from 28 to 33 days. The hatchlings, 35 g (1.2 oz) at first, are brooded for up to 40 days. The young leave the nest at about six weeks of age, but remain dependent on the parents until they are 17 to 19 weeks old. Predators of eggs and birds of all ages include Great Horned Owls, Red-tailed Hawks, Peregrine Falcons, raccoons, martens, and fishers (adults are vulnerable to the mammals only while nesting). Interestingly, Red-shouldered Hawks sometimes collaborate and peaceably co-exist with American Crows (usually an enemy to all other birds because of their egg-hunting habits) in order to mob Great Horned Owls and Red-tailed Hawks.

These birds are permanent residents throughout most of their range; northern birds do migrate, however, wintering mostly in central Mexico. The major modern threat to these birds is deforestation, which has eliminated these birds as breeders in some areas.

Taxonomy

The Red-shouldered Hawk is a member of the genus Buteo, a group of medium-sized raptors with robust bodies and broad wings. Members of this genus are known as buzzards in Europe, but hawks in North America.[1]

There are 5 recognized subspecies of Buteo lineatus, which vary in range and in coloration:[2]

* B. l. lineatus (Gmelin, 1788)
* B. l. alleni
* B. l. elegans
* B. l. extimus
* B. l. texanus
Cross-breeding

There is an open question as to whether or not Red-Shouldered Hawks can or would mate with Red-Tailed Hawks. Julie Waters, a nature photographer in Southern Vermont, has documented one such possible red-tailed red-shouldered hybrid with links to photographs of the bird, the bird's call, and statements from the noted bird expert David Sibley.

In Art

John James Audubon illustrates the Red-shouldered Hawk in Birds of America, Second Edition (published, London 1827-38) as Plate 56 where a pair of birds (male and female) are shown. The image was engraved and colored by Robert Havell's, London workshops. The original watercolor by Audubon was purchased by the New York History Society where it remains to this day (January 2009).

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