Editing Red-tailed hawk (section)

== Taxonomy ==
The red-tailed hawk was [[species description|formally described]] in 1788 by German naturalist [[Johann Friedrich Gmelin]] under the [[binomial name]] ''Falco jamaicensis''.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Gmelin | first=Johann Friedrich | author-link=Johann Friedrich Gmelin| year=1788 | title=''Systema naturae per regna tria naturae : secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis'' | edition=13th | volume=1, Part 1 | language=la | place=Lipsiae [Leipzig] | publisher=Georg. Emanuel. Beer | page=266 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/25751486 }}</ref> Gmelin based his description on the "cream-coloured buzzard" described in 1781 by [[John Latham (ornithologist)|John Latham]] in his ''A General Synopsis of Birds''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Latham | first=John | author-link=John Latham (ornithologist) | year=1781 | title=A General Synopsis of Birds | volume=1 |department=Part&nbsp;1 | pages=49–50 | place=London, UK | publisher= Printed for Benj. White | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/33727557 }}</ref> The [[type locality (biology)|type locality]] is Jamaica.<ref>{{ cite book | editor1-last=Mayr | editor1-first=Ernst | editor1-link=Ernst Mayr | editor2-last=Cottrell | editor2-first=G. William | year=1979 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=1 | edition=2nd | publisher=[[Museum of Comparative Zoology]] | place=Cambridge, MA | page=371 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/16109011 }}</ref> The red-tailed hawk is now placed in the [[genus]] ''Buteo'' that was erected by French naturalist [[Bernard Germain de Lacépède]] in 1799.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Lacépède | first=Bernard Germain de | author-link=Bernard Germain de Lacépède | year=1799 | chapter=Tableau des sous-classes, divisions, sous-division, ordres et genres des oiseux | title=Discours d'ouverture et de clôture du cours d'histoire naturelle | lang=fr | publisher=Plassan | place=Paris | page=4 | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6uhAAAAAcAAJ&pg=RA3-PA4 }} Page numbering starts at one for each of the three sections.</ref><ref name=ioc>{{cite web | editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela Rasmussen | year=2020 | title=Hoatzin, New World vultures, Secretarybird, raptors | series=IOC World Bird List |edition=vers&nbsp;10.2 | publisher=[[International Ornithologists' Union]] | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/raptors/ | access-date=9 October 2020 }}</ref>

[[File:Red-tailed hawk in flight.jpg|thumb|right|In flight showing the red tail]]
[[File:Hawk hovers.ogv|thumb|A red-tailed hawk hovers in the wind.]]
The red-tailed hawk is a member of the subfamily [[Buteoninae]], which includes about 55 currently recognized species.<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref name= delHoyo/> Unlike many lineages of accipitrids, which seemed to have radiated out of Africa or south Asia, the Buteoninae clearly originated in the Americas based on fossil records and current species distributions (more than 75% of the extant hawks from this lineage are found in the Americas).<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref>Brodkorb, P. (1964). ''Catalogue of fossil birds: Part 2 (Anseriformes through Galliformes)''. University of Florida.</ref> As a subfamily, the Buteoninae seem to be rather old based on genetic materials, with [[monophyletic]] genera bearing several million years of individual evolution. 

Diverse in plumage appearance, habitat, prey, and nesting preferences, buteonine hawks are nonetheless typically medium- to large-sized hawks with ample wings (while some fossil forms are very large, larger than any eagle alive today).<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Lerner| first1=Heather R. L. | last2=Klaver | first2=Matthew C. | last3=Mindell | first3=David P. | title=Molecular phylogenetics of the Buteonine birds of prey (Accipitridae)| journal=The Auk | volume=125 | issue=2 | year=2008 | issn=0004-8038 | doi=10.1525/auk.2008.06161|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228375177| pages=304–315| s2cid=85907449 | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | last1=de Oliveira | first1=Edivaldo Herculano C. | last2=Tagliarini | first2=Marcella Mergulhão | last3=dos Santos | first3=Michelly S. | last4=O'Brien | first4=Patricia C. M. | last5=Ferguson-Smith | first5=Malcolm A. | title=Chromosome Painting in Three Species of Buteoninae: A Cytogenetic Signature Reinforces the Monophyly of South American Species | journal=PLOS ONE|volume=8 | issue=7 | date=26 July 2013 | issn=1932-6203 | doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0070071|doi-access=free | page=e70071| pmid=23922908 | pmc=3724671 | bibcode=2013PLoSO...870071D }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Suarez|first=William|year=2004|title=The Identity of the Fossil Raptor of the Genus ''Amplibuteo'' (Aves: Accipitridae) from the Quaternary of Cuba|journal=Caribbean Journal of Science|volume=40|issue=1|pages=120–125|url=http://caribjsci.org/april%2004/40_120-125.pdf}}</ref> The red-tailed hawk is a member of the [[genus]] ''Buteo'', a group of medium-sized raptors with robust bodies and broad wings. Members of this genus are known as "buzzards" in Eurasia, but "hawks" in North America.<ref name="ITIS">{{ITIS |id=175350 |taxon=''Buteo jamaicensis'' (J. F. Gmelin, 1788)}}</ref> Under current classification, the genus includes about 29 species, the second-most diverse of all extant accipitrid genera behind only ''[[Accipiter]]''.<ref name="ioc" /> The buzzards of Eurasia and Africa are mostly part of the genus ''Buteo'', although two other small genera within the subfamily Buteoninae occur in Africa.<ref name="Ferguson-Lees" /><ref name="delHoyo" /><ref name="Riesing">{{cite journal | last1=Riesing | first1=Martin J | last2=Kruckenhauser | first2=Luise | last3=Gamauf | first3=Anita | last4=Haring | first4=Elisabeth | title=Molecular phylogeny of the genus Buteo (''Aves: Accipitridae'') based on mitochondrial marker sequences | journal=Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution| volume=27 | issue=2 | year=2003 | issn=1055-7903 | doi=10.1016/s1055-7903(02)00450-5 | pages=328–342| pmid=12695095 | bibcode=2003MolPE..27..328R }}</ref>

At one time, the [[rufous-tailed hawk]] (''B.&nbsp;ventralis''), distributed in [[Patagonia]] and some other areas of southern South America, was considered part of the red-tailed hawk species. With a massive distributional gap consisting of most of South America, the rufous-tailed hawk is considered a separate species now, but the two hawks still form a [[Species complex|"species pair" or superspecies]], as they are clearly closely related. The rufous-tailed hawk, while comparatively little studied, is very similar to the red-tailed hawk, being about the same size and possessing the same wing structure, and having more or less parallel nesting and hunting habits. Physically, however, rufous-tailed hawk adults do not attain a bright brick-red tail as do red-tailed hawks, instead retaining a dark brownish-cinnamon tail with many blackish crossbars similar to juvenile red-tailed hawks.<ref name="Ferguson-Lees" /><ref>{{cite journal | last1=Johnson | first1=Ned K. | last2=Peeters | first2=Hans J. | title=The Systematic Position of Certain Hawks in the Genus ''Buteo'' | journal=The Auk | volume=80 | issue=4 | year=1963 | issn=0004-8038 | doi=10.2307/4082848|jstor=4082848|url=http://www.raptors-international.org/book/birds_of_prey_1986/Clark_1986_115-118.pdf | pages=417–446}}</ref><ref>
{{cite journal |last=Clark |first=W.S. |year=1986 |title=What is ''Buteo ventralis?'' |journal=[[Birds Prey Bulletin]] |volume= 3|pages= 115–118|url=http://www.raptors-international.org/book/birds_of_prey_1986/Clark_1986_115-118.pdf}}</ref> 

Another, more well-known, close relative to the red-tailed hawk is the [[common buzzard]] (''B.&nbsp;buteo''), which has been considered as its Eurasian "[[Ecological niche|broad ecological counterpart]]" and may also be within a species complex with red-tailed hawks. The common buzzard, in turn, is also part of a species complex with other Old World buzzards, namely the [[mountain buzzard]] (''B.&nbsp;oreophilus''), the [[forest buzzard]] (''B.&nbsp;trizonatus'' ), and the [[Madagascar buzzard]] (''B.&nbsp;brachypterus'').<ref name="Ferguson-Lees" /><ref name="Riesing" /><ref>{{cite journal |last=Clark |first=W.S. |year=2007 |title=Taxonomic status of the Forest Buzzard ''Buteo oreophilus trizonatus'' |journal=Ostrich |volume=78 |issue=1 |pages=101–104 |doi=10.2989/OSTRICH.2007.78.1.16.60 |bibcode=2007Ostri..78..101C |s2cid=6270968 |url=http://www.globalraptors.org/grin/researchers/uploads/155/fbostrich_78(1)_clark.pdf |url-status=dead |access-date=13 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210831200441/http://www.globalraptors.org/grin/researchers/uploads/155/fbostrich_78(1)_clark.pdf |archive-date=31 August 2021 }}</ref> All six species, although varying notably in size and plumage characteristics, in the alleged species complex that contains the red-tailed hawk share with it the feature of the blackish patagium marking, which is missing in most other ''Buteo''&nbsp;spp.<ref name="Ferguson-Lees" /><ref>{{cite journal | last1=Kruckenhauser | first1=Luise | last2=Haring | first2=Elisabeth | last3=Pinsker | first3=Wilhelm | last4=Riesing | first4=Martin J. | last5=Winkler | first5=Hans | last6=Wink | first6=Michael | last7=Gamauf | first7=Anita | title=Genetic vs. morphological differentiation of Old World buzzards (genus ''Buteo'', ''Accipitridae'') | journal=Zoologica Scripta| volume=33 | issue=3 | year=2004 | issn=0300-3256 | doi=10.1111/j.0300-3256.2004.00147.x | pages=197–211| s2cid=84053997 }}</ref>

===Subspecies===
At least 14&nbsp;recognized subspecies of ''B.&nbsp;jamaicensis'' are described, which vary in range and in coloration. Not all authors accept every subspecies, though, particularly some of the insular races of the tropics (which differ only slightly in some cases from the nearest mainland forms) and particularly  Krider's hawk – by far the most controversial red-tailed hawk race, as few authors agree on its suitability as a full-fledged subspecies.<ref name= Palmer/><ref name= Preston/><ref name= Brown/>
{| class="wikitable "
|-
! Image !! Subspecies !! Distribution
|-
|[[File:Red-tailed Hawk Buteo jamaicensis 2423.jpg|120px]] ||[[Jamaican red-tailed hawk]] (''B.&nbsp;j.&nbsp;jamaicensis'')||occurs throughout the [[West Indies]] (including Jamaica, [[Hispaniola]], [[Puerto Rico]] and the [[Lesser Antilles]]) except for the Bahamas and Cuba. 
|-
|[[File:Red-tailed hawk, Swan Lake, Victoria, BC (9346135799).jpg|120px]] ||[[Alaska red-tailed hawk]] (''B.&nbsp;j.&nbsp;alascensis'') ||breeds (probably resident) from southeastern coastal [[Alaska]] to [[Haida Gwaii]] and [[Vancouver Island]] in British Columbia.
|-
|[[File:Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) (12059507526).jpg|120px]] || [[Eastern red-tailed hawk]] (''B.&nbsp;j.&nbsp;borealis'') ||breeds from southeast Canada and [[Maine]] south through [[Texas]] and east to [[northern Florida]]. 
|-
|[[File:Buteo jamaicensis -Pillar Point Harbor, California, USA-8.jpg|120px]] ||[[Western red-tailed hawk]] (''B.&nbsp;j.&nbsp;calurus'') || greatest longitudinal breeding distribution of any race of red-tailed hawk.
|-
|[[File:Buteo jamaicensis costaricensis 2392995.jpg|120px]] ||[[Central American red-tailed hawk]] (''B.&nbsp;j.&nbsp;costaricensis'') || from Nicaragua to Panama.  
|-
|[[File:Red-taied Hawk (Fuertes's) Buteo jamaicensis fuertesi (16273651968).jpg|120px]] ||[[Southwestern red-tailed hawk]] (''B.&nbsp;j.&nbsp;fuertesi'') ||breeds from northern [[Chihuahua (state)|Chihuahua]] to [[South Texas]]. 
|-
| ||[[Tres Marias red-tailed hawk]] (''B.&nbsp;j.&nbsp;fumosus'') || endemic to [[Islas Marías]], Mexico. 
|-
| ||[[Mexican Highlands red-tailed hawk]] (''B.&nbsp;j.&nbsp;hadropus'') || native to the Mexican Highlands.
|-
|[[File:Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis harlini) (16552869585).jpg|120px]] ||[[Harlan's hawk]] (''B.&nbsp;j.&nbsp;harlani'') ||breeds from central Alaska to northwestern Canada, with the largest number of birds breeding in the [[Yukon]] or western Alaska, reaching their southern limit in north-central [[British Columbia]]. 
|-
| ||[[Red-tailed hawk (kemsiesi)|Red-tailed hawk (''kemsiesi'')]] (''B.&nbsp;j.&nbsp;kemsiesi)'' || a dark subspecies resident from [[Chiapas]], [[Mexico]], to [[Nicaragua]].
|-
|[[File:Buteo jamaicensis kriderii 58239568.jpg|120px]] ||[[Krider's hawk]] (''B.&nbsp;j.&nbsp;kriderii'') ||breeds from southern [[Alberta]], southern [[Saskatchewan]], southern [[Manitoba]], and extreme western [[Ontario]] south to south-central [[Montana]], [[Wyoming]], western [[Nebraska]], and western [[Minnesota]]. 
|-
| ||[[Socorro red-tailed hawk]] (''B.&nbsp;j.&nbsp;socorroensis)'' || endemic to [[Socorro Island]], Mexico. 
|-
| ||[[Cuban red-tailed hawk]] (''B.&nbsp;j.&nbsp;solitudinis'') || native to the Bahamas and Cuba.
|-
|[[File:Buteo jamaicensis Vero Beach.jpg|120px]] ||[[Florida red-tailed hawk]] (''B.&nbsp;j.&nbsp;umbrinus)'' ||occurs year-round in peninsular Florida north to as far [[Tampa Bay]] and the [[Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park|Kissimmee Prairie]] south throughout the rest of peninsular Florida south to the [[Florida Keys]].
|-
|}