Facts
- Adaptable, common, and widespread in almost all habitats in Southern California
- Red-tailed hawks are in the group of birds known as raptors, or birds of prey
- They have a strong, hooked beak
- Typically weighs 2-4 lbs.; with the female nearly 1/3 larger than the male
- Diurnal (Day active)
- Carnivore-eats mostly small rodents, birds and reptiles
- Eyesight is three times better than ours
- A red-tailed hawk can see a mouse ½ a mile away
- Can fly up to 40 mph
- They search for prey by soaring or perching
- Have been known to hover on thermal wind or air currents
- Red-tailed hawks have a hoarse and rasping 2-3 second scream that can be heard while they're soaring
- Scrub jays and other predators sometimes take undefended red-tailed hawk eggs and nestlings
- Great horned owls and golden eagles commonly use old nests of hawks
People and Red-Tailed Hawks
- In California, state and federal laws protect all raptors
- Because of their inexperience in hunting, juvenile birds may be seen eating road-killed animals
- Hawks may sometimes kill chickens, and despite this rare occurrence, the red-tail is known in some parts of the country as a "chicken hawk." As a consequence, dead hawks hanging from fences and lying under trees and power poles are mute evidence that shooters, not understanding the economic or aesthetic importance of raptors, or perhaps unaware of protective laws, still kill them indiscriminately.
How to Coexist
- Hawks are good at keeping the rodent population in check.
- Don't use poison to kill rodents; you may inadvertently kill hawks and other wildlife that prey upon rodents.
- Keep domestic birds inside, avoiding outdoor cages.
