The oldest known wild Red-tailed Hawk was at least 30 years, 8 months old when it was found in Michigan in 2011, the same state where it had been banded in 1981.Red-tailed Hawks have been seen hunting as a pair, guarding opposite sides of the same tree to catch tree squirrels.Sometimes, the pair grab onto one other, clasp talons, and plummet in spirals toward the ground before pulling away. After several of these swoops he approaches the female from above, extends his legs, and touches her briefly. The male dives steeply, then shoots up again at an angle nearly as steep. Courting Red-tailed Hawks put on a display in which they soar in wide circles at a great height.It’s so distinctive that it was once considered a separate species, until ornithologists discovered many individuals that were intermediate between Harlan's and more typical Red-tailed Hawks. This very dark form of the Red-tailed Hawk has a marbled white, brown, and gray tail instead of a red one. The "Harlan's Hawk" breeds in Alaska and northwestern Canada, and winters on the southern Great Plains. ![]() A similar-sized small dog might weigh 10 times that. Other times you’ll see them atop telephone poles, eyes fixed on the ground to catch the movements of a vole or a rabbit, or simply waiting out. Red-tailed Hawks soar above open fields, slowly turning circles on their broad, rounded wings. If you’ve got sharp eyes you’ll see several individuals on almost any long car ride, anywhere. The Red-tailed Hawk is one of the largest birds you’ll see in North America, yet even the biggest females weigh in at only about 3 pounds. This is probably the most common hawk in North America.
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