Juvenile White-crowned Sparrow foragingAdult Red-tailed Hawk in flight with prey in Utah – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/2500, ISO 500, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 321mm, natural light, not baited

Red-tailed Hawks are in the genus Buteo, so what is a Buteo? Buteos are medium to large hawks with broad wings, wide bodies and short tails that soar in wide lazy circles and most often hunt from a high perch from which they drop down to their prey.

Red-tailed Hawks are named for their rufous colored tails but not all Red-tailed Hawks have red tails, Harlan’s; a subspecies, and juveniles do not have red tails.

The adult Red-tailed Hawk above does have the red tail. The tail looks messed up because when it grabbed the vole in its talons it also grabbed some grass or a twig that is pushing up through the tail feathers.

Just looking at this raptor makes me feel very glad that I am not a vole!

Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk on a fencepost in MontanaJuvenile Red-tailed Hawk on a fence post in Montana – Nikon D300, f6.3, 1/400, ISO 1000, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light, not baited

Juvenile Red-tailed Hawks can appear to be a whole different species for neophyte birders and bird photographers because they do lack the red tail plus their eyes are lighter colored than the adults. Time in the field and time spent studying field guides will help new birders and bird photographers ID the juveniles.

Life is good.

Mia

Click here to see more of my Red-tailed Hawk photos plus facts and information about this species.