redshouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONFIRMATION STATUS: Confirmed.

 

IDENTIFICATION:

• Length: 16 inches Wingspan: 40 inches

• Sexes similar

• Short, dark, hooked beak

• Large, fairly long-tailed, broad-winged hawk

• Pale, translucent crescent at base of primaries

Adult:

• Brown head

• Reddish breast and underwing coverts

• Pale belly barred heavily with reddish

• Reddish lesser uppersecondary coverts appear as reddish shoulder at              rest

• Flight feathers dark above with white barring

• Flight feathers pale below with dark barring

• Dark tail has several narrow white bars

• Florida birds (Buteo lineatus extimus) are paler about the head and have    much paler breasts

• California (Buteo lineatus elegans) and Texas (Buteo lineatus texanus)      birds are much richer red

Immature:

• Pale supercilium

• Brown head, back and upperwing coverts

• small reddish patch on lesser secondary upperwing coverts

• Underwing mostly pale, with faint barring on flight feathers

• Dark brown tail with narrow buff bands

Similar species:

Young red-tailed hawks can resemble young red-shoulders, but lack
the pale crescents in the outer wing and have a quite different shape,
being much broader-winged, broader-tailed and often soaring with
more of a dihedral. Adult broad-winged hawk is similarly patterned
but lacks red shoulders, lacks pale translucent crescents, has black and
white bands on tail of even width and a crisp black border to underwing.
Immature broad-winged is quite similar but can be distinguished by the
same tail pattern criteria that is useful for adults. In flight note the lack
of translucent pale crescents in wings, as well as the quite different
shape: Broad-winged hawks are very broad-winged and short-tailed,
while red-shouldered hawks have long, narrow wings that flare out at
the rear edge and have longer tails.

 

LIFE HISTORY

Migration Status: Short distance migrant
Breeding Habitat: Woodland
Nest Location: N/A
Nest Type: N/A
Clutch Size: 2-3
Length of Incubation: 28 days
Days to Fledge: 39-45
Number of Broods: 1
Diet: Primarily small mammals; lesser quantities of reptiles or
   amphibians, birds.

 

SKY MEADOWS DISTRIBUTION/SEASONAL OCCURRENCE

 

Relative abundance and seasonal occurrence are indicated in red below.

 

Relative abundance
     C - Common: Likely to be present in good numbers in appropriate habitat and season.
     U - Uncommon: May be present in appropriate habitat and season, often in low
            numbers.
     O - Occassional: Found in appropriate habitat perhaps only a few times per season,
            sometimes low numbers.
     R - Rare: May not be recorded every year.
     Acc - Accidental: Recorded once or twice, may not be expected again for a long time.

 

Seasonal Occurrence
      Sp - Spring: March, April, May R
      Su - Summer: June, July, August O
      Fall: September, October, November U

      Winter: December, January, February U

 

 

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