Red Tailed Hawk Research Paper

The Red-tailed Hawk is the most known hawk in America especially North America. They commonly fly above fields with their broad wings. They are well adapted to living in the air. They are very large and a female can weigh up to three pounds. You’ll see them on electric poles observing a mole or a squirrel simply waiting out the perfect time to attack them.
Red-tailed Hawks have a thrilling scream that excites many people.During courting,they put on a spectacular display high up the sky in circles.The male dives downwards then shoots up again.After some swoops, the male and female entangle and spirals towards the ground before pulling away.
They hunt as a pair to catch tree squirrels.When perched, the coloration on the wings blends with the back,
but when in flight, the pale underside is exposed. The wings have a dark bar at the leading edge and dark tips. Its broad tail is reddish-brown or rust-colored on the top and pink below. The legs and feet are yellow .
The shape and color of the tail and the belly band are the best identification markers to look for in an adult. They tolerate a broad range of habitats. The are found in deserts, grasslands, deciduous and coniferous forests as well as tropical rain forests. Its preferred habitat is mixed forests and fields with cliffs or trees that can be used as perches. The Red-tailed Hawk can be found throughout North America except the Arctic region.They reach sexual maturity at three years of age. Once he finds a mate, he will stay with her year after year only taking a new mate when the first one dies. The courtship ritual consists of aerial maneuvers with both flying in circles and shrilling loudly. The male will break off and shoot upward only to dive back down again. After climbing and diving several times, the male comes from behind. He grabs her talons, and the fight begins.
On habitat issues, the pair uses and defends the same nesting area year after year. They build the nest together usually placing it least 12 feet off the ground. The nest is huge. It is made of twigs and lined with pine needles and other soft plant matter. The nest is kept clean with fresh plant matter throughout the breeding season.
Once the female starts laying her eggs in mid-year, they produce one every day.
The eggs are a bluish-white, and the clutch is composed of one to five eggs. Both the male and the female incubate the eggs. Once the eggs hatch, the female tends the hatch lings and the male searches for food. After six weeks, the chicks begin leaving the nest for short flights. For the following ten weeks, they continue to depend on their parents while they learn to fly and to hunt
They usually compete with several different birds, including the Great Horned Owl for nesting sites. They are carnivorous. Diet is composed of small mammals such as rabbits and rodents. It will also prey on snakes, lizards, birds, and fish. It is an opportunistic feeder and feed on whatever is available. It usually hunts from an elevated perch.
Typically, the Red-tailed Hawk soars rather than continuously flapping its wings. The strokes are broad and slow. During the regular flight, they average 15 to 40 mph, but when diving after prey, it can reach speeds of close to 121 mph. The Red-tailed Hawk's shrill scream is clearly heard from quite a distance. Since its discovery, they protected in the United States, Mexico, and Canada by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of
1918.