Editing Red-tailed hawk (section)

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{Good article}} 
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{very long|date=January 2024|words=19,000}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Red-tailed Hawk (45812546121).jpg
| image_caption = 
| image2 = Screaming Hawk.wav
| image2_caption = Red-tailed hawk call
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref =<ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |year=2016 |title=''Buteo jamaicensis'' |page=e.T22695933A93534834 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22695933A93534834.en}}</ref>
| status2 = G5
| status2_system = TNC
| status2_ref =<ref name="NatureServe">{{cite web|title=Buteo jamaicensis|url=https://explorer.natureserve.org/Taxon/ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.103000/Buteo_jamaicensis|website=[[NatureServe]] Explorer|access-date=18 July 2024}}</ref>
| taxon = Buteo jamaicensis
| authority = ([[Johann Friedrich Gmelin|Gmelin]], 1788)
| synonyms =
''Buteo borealis''<br/>
''Buteo borealis'' <small>(''[[lapsus]]'')</small><br />
''Falco borealis'' <small>Gmelin</small><br />
''Falco harlani'' <small>Audubon</small>
| range_map = Buteo jamaicensis map.svg
| range_map_caption = {{leftlegend|#FF7F2A|Breeding}}{{leftlegend|#7137C8|Year-round}}{{leftlegend|#5F8DD3|Nonbreeding}}
}}

The '''red-tailed hawk''' ('''''Buteo jamaicensis''''') is a [[bird of prey]] that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of [[Alaska]] and [[northern Canada]] to as far south as [[Panama]] and the [[West Indies]]. It is one of the most common members of the genus ''[[Buteo]]''.<ref name="Ferguson-Lees">{{cite book|year=2001|title=Raptors of the World| publisher=[[Helm Identification Guides|Christopher Helm]]|location=London|isbn=978-0-7136-8026-3|author1=Ferguson-Lees, J. |author2=Christie, D. }}</ref> The red-tailed hawk is one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "[[Chickenhawk (bird)|chickenhawk]]", though it rarely preys on standard-sized chickens.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/lifehistory |title=Red-tailed Hawk |work=All About Birds |publisher=Cornell University |access-date=16 May 2011}}</ref>

Red-tailed hawks can acclimate to all the [[biome]]s within their range, occurring on the edges of non-ideal habitats such as dense forests and sandy deserts.<ref name="CRPreston">Preston, C. R. (2000). ''Red-tailed Hawk''. Stackpole Books.</ref> The red-tailed hawk occupies a wide range of habitats and altitudes, including [[desert]]s, [[grassland]]s, [[coniferous]] and [[deciduous]] forests, [[Agricultural land|agricultural fields]], and [[Urbanization|urban areas]]. Its latitudinal limits fall around the [[tree line]] in the [[subarctic]] and it is absent from the high [[Arctic]]. It favors varied habitats with [[Woodland|open woodland]], [[woodland edge]] and [[open terrain]]. It is legally protected in [[Canada]], [[Mexico]], and the United States by the [[Migratory Bird Treaty Act]].

The [[Red-tailed hawk#Subspecies|14 recognized subspecies]] vary in appearance and range, varying most often in color. In the west of North America, red-tails are often strongly [[Polymorphism (biology)|polymorphic]], with individuals ranging from almost white to nearly all black.<ref name= Palmer>Palmer, R. S., ed. (1988). ''Handbook of North American birds''. Volume 5 Diurnal Raptors (part 2).</ref> The subspecies [[Harlan's hawk]] (''B.&nbsp;j.&nbsp;harlani'') is sometimes considered a separate species (''B.&nbsp;harlani'').<ref name="Maxwell2013">{{cite book |last=Maxwell |first=Terry C. |year=2013 |title=Wildlife of the Concho Valley |publisher=Texas A&M University Press |isbn=978-1-62349-006-5 |page=148 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qVi9AAAAQBAJ&pg=PT148 }}</ref> The red-tailed hawk is one of the largest members of the genus ''Buteo'', typically weighing from {{Convert|690|to|1600|g|lb|abbr = on|sigfig=2}} and measuring {{Convert|45|-|65|cm|in|abbr = on}} in length, with a wingspan from {{Convert|110|-|141|cm|ftin|0|abbr = on}}. This species displays [[sexual dimorphism]] in size, with females averaging about 25% heavier than males.<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://eol.org/pages/1049057/details |title=Red-tailed Hawk |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Life |access-date=21 March 2012}}</ref> The diet of red-tailed hawks is highly variable and reflects their status as opportunistic generalists, but in North America, they are most often predators of small [[mammal]]s such as [[rodent]]s; prey that is terrestrial and at least partially diurnal is preferred.<ref name=Schmutz>{{cite journal | last1=Schmutz | first1=J.K. | last2=Schmutz | first2=S.M. | last3=Boag | first3=D.A. | date=1 June 1980 | title=Coexistence of three species of hawks (''Buteo''&nbsp;spp.) in the prairie–parkland ecotone | journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology | publisher=Canadian Science Publishing | volume=58 | issue=6  | pages=1075–1089 | issn=0008-4301 | doi=10.1139/z80-151 | pmid=7427802 | bibcode=1980CaJZ...58.1075S }}</ref> Like many ''Buteo'' species, they most often hunt from a perch, but they can vary their hunting techniques where prey and habitat demand it.<ref name="Palmer" /><ref name="Preston">Preston, C. R. and R. D. Beane. (2009). "Red-tailed Hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis''), ''The Birds of North America''. {{doi|10.2173/bna.52}}.</ref> 

Because they are so common and easily trained as capable hunters, in the United States they are the most commonly captured hawks for [[falconry]]. Falconers are permitted to take only passage hawks (which have left the nest, are on their own, but are less than a year old) so as to not affect the breeding population. Passage red-tailed hawks are also preferred by falconers because they have not yet developed the adult behaviors that would make them more difficult to train.<ref name="Beebe">Beebe, F. L. (1976). ''North American Falconry and Hunting Hawks''. Hancock House Books (British Columbia).</ref>