Editing Red-tailed hawk (section)

== Description ==
[[File:Buteo jamaicensis -John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum, Pennsylvania, USA-8.jpg|thumb|A red-tailed hawk at [[John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum]]]]
Red-tailed hawk [[plumage]] can be variable, depending on the [[subspecies]] and the region. These color variations are [[Polymorphism (biology)|morphs]], and are not related to [[molt]]ing. The western North American population, ''B.&nbsp;j.&nbsp;calurus'', is the most variable subspecies and has three main color morphs: light, dark, and intermediate or rufous. The dark and intermediate morphs constitute 10–20% of the population in the Western United States, but seem to constitute only 1–2% of ''B.&nbsp;j.&nbsp;calurus'' in western Canada.<ref name="Land" /><ref name= Clark>Clark, W.S. (2014). [http://www.globalraptors.org/grin/researchers/uploads/155/harlansplumagesdifferrev2-14_(1).pdf HARLAN’S HAWK differs from RED-TAILED HAWK] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213124046/http://www.globalraptors.org/grin/researchers/uploads/155/harlansplumagesdifferrev2-14_(1).pdf |date=13 February 2019 }}. Global Raptor Information Network.</ref> 

A whitish underbelly with a dark brown band across the belly, formed by horizontal streaks in [[feather]] patterning, is present in most color variations. This feature is variable in eastern hawks and generally absent in some light subspecies (i.e. ''B.&nbsp;j.&nbsp;fuertesi'').<ref name="Ferguson-Lees" /> Most adult red-tails have a dark-brown nape and upper head, which gives them a somewhat hooded appearance, while the throat can variably present a lighter brown "necklace". Especially in younger birds, the underside may be otherwise covered with dark-brown spotting, and some adults may too manifest this stippling. The back is usually a slightly darker brown than elsewhere with paler scapular feathers, ranging from tawny to white, forming a variable imperfect "V" on the back. 

The tail of most adults, which gives this species its name, is rufous brick-red above with a variably sized, black subterminal band and generally appears light buff-orange from below. In comparison, the typical pale immatures (i.e., less than two years old) typically have a slightly paler head and tend to show a darker back than adults with more apparent pale wing-feather edges above (for descriptions of dark morph juveniles from ''B.&nbsp;j.&nbsp;calurus'', which is also generally apt for description of rare dark morphs of other races, see under that subspecies description). In immature red-tailed hawks of all morphs, the tail is a light brown above with numerous small dark brown bars of roughly equal width, but these tend to be much broader on dark morph birds. Even in young red-tails, the tail may be a somewhat rufous tinge of brown.<ref name="Ferguson-Lees" /><ref name="CRPreston" /><ref name="USGS">{{cite web|url=http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/i3370id.html|title=''Buteo jamaicensis''|publisher=U.S. Geological Survey|access-date=5 June 2007|archive-date=6 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160106032548/http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/i3370id.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> 

The [[beak|bill]] is relatively short and dark, in the hooked shape characteristic of [[Bird of prey|raptors]], and the head can sometimes appear small in size against the thick body frame.<ref name="Ferguson-Lees" /> The [[cere]], the legs, and the feet of the red-tailed hawk are all yellow, as is the color of bare parts in many accipitrids of different lineages.<ref name="ADW">{{cite web|url=http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Buteo_jamaicensis.html|last1=Dewey |first1= T. |first2= D. |last2=Arnold |title=''Buteo jamaicensis''|access-date=5 June 2007 |publisher=Animal Diversity Web}}</ref> Immature birds can be readily identified at close range by their yellowish [[Iris (anatomy)|irises]]. As the bird attains full maturity over the course of 3–4 years, the iris slowly darkens into a reddish-brown, which is the adult eye-color in all races.<ref name="CRPreston" /><ref name="USGS" /> Seen in flight, adults usually have dark brown along the lower edge of the wings, against a mostly pale wing, which bares light brownish barring. Individually, the underwing coverts can range from all dark to off-whitish (most often more heavily streaked with brown) which contrasts with a distinctive black [[patagium]] marking. The wing coloring of adults and immatures is similar but for typical pale morph immatures having somewhat heavier brownish markings.<ref name="Ferguson-Lees" /><ref name="Brown">Brown, Leslie and Amadon, Dean (1986) ''Eagles, Hawks and Falcons of the World''. The Wellfleet Press. {{ISBN|978-1555214722}}.</ref>
[[File:Buteo jamaicensis in flight at Llano Seco-1520.jpg|thumb|upright=1.8|A western juvenile in flight]]
Though the markings and color vary across the subspecies, the basic appearance of the red-tailed hawk is relatively consistent.

Overall, this species is blocky and broad in shape, often appearing (and being) heavier than other ''[[Buteo]]s'' of similar length. They are the heaviest ''Buteos'' on average in eastern North America, albeit scarcely ahead of the larger winged [[rough-legged buzzard]] (''Buteo lagopus''), and second only in size in the west to the [[ferruginous hawk]] (''Buteo regalis''). Red-tailed hawks may be anywhere from the fifth to the ninth heaviest ''Buteo'' in the world depending on what figures are used. However, in the northwestern United States, ferruginous hawk females are 35% heavier than female red-tails from the same area.<ref name= Ferguson-Lees /> On average, western red-tailed hawks are relatively longer winged and lankier proportioned but are slightly less stocky, compact and heavy than eastern red-tailed hawks in North America. Eastern hawks may also have mildly larger talons and bills than western ones. Based on comparisons of morphology and function among all accipitrids, these features imply that western red-tails may need to vary their hunting more frequently to on the wing as the habitat diversifies to more open situations and presumably would hunt more variable and faster prey, whereas the birds of the east, which was historically well-wooded, are more dedicated perch hunters and can take somewhat larger prey but are likely more dedicated mammal hunters.<ref name= Preston/><ref name= Pearlstine>{{cite journal|last1=Pearlstine |first1=E.V. |last2=Thompson |first2=D.B. |year=2004|title=Geographic variation in morphology of four species of migratory raptors |url=https://sora.unm.edu/node/54133 |journal=[[Journal of Raptor Research]] |volume= 38|pages= 334–342}}</ref><ref name= Fitzpatrick>{{cite journal|last1=Fitzpatrick|first1=B. M.|last2=Dunk|first2=J. R. |year=1999|title=Ecogeographic variation in morphology of Red-tailed Hawks in western North America|journal=Journal of Raptor Research|volume= 33|issue=4|pages= 305–312|url=https://sora.unm.edu/node/53774}}</ref> 

In terms of size variation, red-tailed hawks run almost contrary to [[Bergmann's rule]] (i.e. that northern animals should be larger in relation than those closer to the [[Equator]] within a species) as one of the northernmost subspecies, ''B.&nbsp;j.&nbsp;alascensis'', is the second smallest race based on linear dimensions and that two of the most southerly occurring races in the United States, ''B.&nbsp;j.&nbsp;fuertesi'' and ''B.&nbsp;j.&nbsp;umbrinus'', respectively, are the largest proportioned of all red-tailed hawks.<ref name="Preston" /><ref name="Fitzpatrick" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Meiri |first1=S. |last2=Dayan |first2=T. |year=2003 |title=On the validity of Bergmann's rule |journal=[[Journal of Biogeography]] |volume=30 |issue=3 |pages=331–351 |doi=10.1046/j.1365-2699.2003.00837.x |bibcode=2003JBiog..30..331M |s2cid=11954818 }}</ref> Red-tailed hawks tend have a relatively short but broad tails and thick, chunky wings.<ref name="USGS" /> Although often described as long-winged,<ref name="Ferguson-Lees" /><ref name="CRPreston" /> the proportional size of the wings is quite small and red-tails have high [[wing loading]] for a buteonine hawk. For comparison, two other widespread ''Buteo'' hawks in North America were found to weigh: {{convert|30|g|oz|abbr=on}} for every square centimeter of wing area in the [[rough-legged buzzard]] (''B.&nbsp;lagopus'') and {{convert|44|g|oz|abbr=on}}/cm<sup>2</sup> in the [[red-shouldered hawk]] (''B.&nbsp;lineatus''). In contrast, the red-tailed hawk weighed considerably more for their wing area: {{convert|199|g|oz|abbr=on}} per square cm.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Jaksić |first1=F.M. |last2=Carothers |first2=J.H. |year=1985 |title=Ecological, morphological, and bioenergetic correlates of hunting mode in hawks and owls |journal=[[Ornis Scandinavica]] |volume=16 |issue=3 |pages=165–172 |doi=10.2307/3676627 |jstor=3676627 }}</ref>

[[File:Milwaukee Public Museum March 2023 74 (Wisconsin Birds--Wisconsin Fields and Woods, Red-Tailed Hawk).jpg|thumb|Taxidermied red-tailed hawk at the [[Milwaukee Public Museum]]]]

As is the case with many raptors, the red-tailed hawk displays sexual dimorphism in size, as females are on average 25% larger than males.<ref name="ADW" /> As is typical in large raptors, frequently reported mean body mass for red-tailed hawks is somewhat higher than expansive research reveals.<ref name= Hull>{{Cite journal
 | pmid = 18208488
| year = 2008
| last1 = Hull
| first1 = J. M.
| title = Landscape characteristics influence morphological and genetic differentiation in a widespread raptor (''Buteo jamaicensis'')
| journal = Molecular Ecology
| volume = 17
| issue = 3
| pages = 810–24
| last2 = Hull
| first2 = A. C.
| last3 = Sacks
| first3 = B. N.
| last4 = Smith
| first4 = J. P.
| last5 = Ernest
| first5 = H. B.
| doi = 10.1111/j.1365-294X.2007.03632.x
| bibcode = 2008MolEc..17..810H
| s2cid = 26662247
}}</ref> Part of this weight variation is seasonal fluctuations; hawks tend to be heavier in winter than during migration or especially during the trying summer breeding season, and also due to clinal variation. Furthermore, immature hawks are usually lighter in mass than their adult counterparts despite having somewhat longer wings and tails. Male red-tailed hawks may weigh from {{convert|690|to|1300|g|lb|abbr=on}} and females may weigh  {{convert|801|to|1723|g|lb|abbr=on}} (the lowest figure from a migrating female immature from [[Goshute Mountains]], [[Nevada]], the highest from a wintering female in [[Wisconsin]]).<ref name= Palmer/><ref name= delHoyo>{{cite book |editor-last = del Hoyo |editor-first = J. |editor2-last = Elliott |editor2-first = A. | editor3-last = Sargatal |editor3-first = J. |year = 1999 |title = Handbook of the Birds of the World |volume = 2 |publisher = Lynx Edicions |location = Barcelona |isbn = 978-84-87334-15-3|title-link = Handbook of the Birds of the World }}</ref><ref name= Donohue>{{cite journal |last1=Donohue |first1=K.C. |last2=Dufty |first2=A.M. |year=2006 |title=Sex determination of Red-tailed Hawks (''Buteo jamaicensis calurus'') using DNA analysis and morphometrics |journal=[[Journal of Field Ornithology]] |volume=77 |issue=1 |pages=74–79 |doi=10.1111/j.1557-9263.2006.00003.x |doi-access=free |jstor=27639302 |url=https://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1010&context=bio_facpubs |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Some sources claim the largest females can weigh up to {{convert|2000|g|lb|abbr=on}}, but whether this is in reference to wild hawks (as opposed to those in captivity or used for falconry) is not clear.<ref>{{cite web |title=Buteos |website=adfg.alaska.gov |publisher=[[Alaska Department of Fish & Game]] |url=https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/education/wns/buteos.pdf |access-date=2018-01-08}}</ref> 

The largest known survey of body mass in red-tailed hawks is still credited to Craighead and Craighead (1956), who found 100 males to average {{convert|1028|g|lb|abbr=on}} and 108 females to average {{convert|1244|g|lb|abbr=on}}. However, these figures were apparently taken from labels on museum specimens, from natural history collections in [[Wisconsin]] and [[Pennsylvania]], without note to the region, age, or subspecies of the specimens.<ref name="Palmer" /><ref name="Craighead">Craighead, J. J. and F. C. Craighead, Jr. (1956). ''Hawks, owls and wildlife''. Stackpole Co. Harrisburg, PA.</ref> However, 16 sources ranging in sample size from the aforementioned 208 specimens to only four hawks in [[Puerto Rico]] (with 9 of the 16 studies of migrating red-tails), showed that males weigh a mean of {{convert|860.2|g|lb|abbr=on}} and females weigh a mean of {{convert|1036.2|g|lb|abbr=on}}, about 15% lighter than prior species-wide published weights. Within the [[continental United States]], typical weights of males can range from {{convert|840.8|g|lb|abbr=on}} (for migrating males in [[Chelan County, Washington]]) to {{convert|1031|g|lb|abbr=on}} (for male hawks found dead in [[Massachusetts]]), and females ranged from {{convert|1057.9|g|lb|abbr=on}} (migrants in the [[Goshute Mountains|Goshutes]]) to {{convert|1373|g|lb|abbr=on}} (for females diagnosed as ''B.&nbsp;j.&nbsp;borealis'' in western [[Kansas]]).<ref name="Hull" /><ref name="Preston" /><ref name="Pearlstine" /><ref name="Snyder">Snyder, N. F. R. and Wiley, J. W. (1976). [http://globalraptors.org/grin/researchers/uploads/470/snyder_&_wiley_1976.pdf "Sexual size dimorphism in hawks and owls of North America"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171020084150/http://globalraptors.org/grin/researchers/uploads/470/snyder_%26_wiley_1976.pdf |date=20 October 2017 }}. ''Ornithological Monographs'', Vol. 20, pp. i–vi, 1–96.</ref><ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1676/13-131.1|title=Sex and Age Group Specific Changes in Body Condition of Red-tailed Hawks in Central Nebraska |journal=[[The Wilson Journal of Ornithology]] |volume=126|issue=3|pages=575–580|year=2014|last1=Schoenebeck|first1=Casey W.|last2=Turco|first2=Matthew|last3=Fahrlander|first3=Rae M.|last4=Darveau|first4=Kaitlyn M.|last5=Freeman|first5=Thomas L.|s2cid=84140038}}</ref><ref name="Steenhof">{{cite journal|doi=10.2307/4761|jstor=4761|title=Dietary Responses of Three Raptor Species to Changing Prey Densities in a Natural Environment|journal=The Journal of Animal Ecology|volume=57|issue=1|pages=37–48|year=1988|last1=Steenhof|first1=Karen|last2=Kochert|first2=Michael N.|bibcode=1988JAnEc..57...37S |url=https://zenodo.org/record/1235199}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Franson |first1=J.C. |last2=Thomas |first2=N.J. |last3=Smith |first3=M.R. |last4=Robbins |first4=A.H. |last5=Newman |first5=S. |last6=McCartin |first6=P.C. |year=1996 |title=A retrospective study of postmortem findings in red-tailed hawks |journal=[[Journal of Raptor Research]] |volume= 30 |issue=1 |pages= 7–14 |bibcode=1996JRapR..30....7F |url=https://sora.unm.edu/node/53510 }}</ref><ref name="Imler">{{cite journal |last=Imler |first=R.H. |year=1937 |title=Weights of some birds of prey of western Kansas |journal=[[Bird Banding]] |volume= 8 |issue=4 |pages=166–169 |doi=10.2307/4509472|jstor=4509472 |url=https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/jfo/v008n04/p0166-p0169.pdf }}</ref> Size variation in body mass reveals that the red-tailed hawk typically varies only a modest amount and that size differences are geographically inconsistent.<ref name="Preston" /><ref name="Snyder" />

Male red-tailed hawks can measure {{convert|45|to|60|cm|in|abbr=on}} in total length, females measuring {{convert|48|to|65|cm|abbr=on}} long. Their wingspan typically can range from {{convert|105|to|141|cm|ftin|0|abbr=on}}, although the largest females may possible span up to {{convert|147|cm|ftin|0|abbr=on}}. In the standard scientific method of measuring wing size, the [[Wing chord (biology)|wing chord]] is {{convert|325.1|-|444.5|mm|in|abbr=on}} long. The tail measures {{convert|188|to|258.7|mm|in|abbr=on}} in length.<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref name= delHoyo/><ref>[http://www.arkive.org/red-tailed-hawk/buteo-jamaicensis/#text=Facts|ARKive- Red-tailed Hawk videos, photos and facts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120604154344/http://www.arkive.org/red-tailed-hawk/buteo-jamaicensis/#text=Facts%7CARKive- |date=4 June 2012 }}. Arkive.org. Retrieved 2012-08-22.</ref> The [[Culmen (bird)|exposed culmen]] was reported to range from {{convert|21.7|to|30.2|mm|in|abbr=on}} and the [[Tibiotarsus|tarsus]] averaged {{convert|74.7|-|95.8|mm|in|abbr=on}} across the races.<ref name= Hull/><ref name= Preston/><ref>{{cite journal|url=http://scholarworks.boisestate.edu/bio_facpubs/11/|title=Sex Determination of Red-Tailed Hawks (''Buteo jamaicensis calurus'')|volume=77|pages=74–79|journal=Scholarworks.boisestate.edu|date=2006-02-27|doi=10.1111/j.1557-9263.2006.00003.x|last1=Donohue|first1=Kara C.|last2=Dufty|first2=Alfred M.|doi-access=free|url-access=subscription}}</ref> The middle toe (excluding talon) can range from {{convert|38.3|to|53.8|mm|in|abbr=on}}, with the hallux-claw (the talon of the rear toe, which has evolved to be the largest in accipitrids) measuring from {{convert|24.1|to|33.6|mm|in|abbr=on}} in length.<ref name= Hull/><ref name= Preston/>

===Identification===
[[File:Red-tailed hawk in Central Park (24796).jpg|thumb|Close-up of red-tailed hawk's head]]
[[File:RedTailDisplay.jpg|thumb|Characteristic red tail]]
[[File:red-tail hawk.webm|thumb|thumbtime=14|This [[red-tailed hawk]] is an ambassador animal for the Ohio Wildlife Center]]
Although they overlap in range with most other American diurnal raptors, identifying most mature red-tailed hawks to species is relatively straightforward, particularly if viewing a typical adult at a reasonable distance. The red-tailed hawk is the only North American hawk with a rufous tail and a blackish [[patagium]] marking on the leading edge of its wing (which is obscured only on dark morph adults and Harlan's hawks by similarly dark-colored feathers).<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/> 

Other larger adult ''Buteo''&nbsp;spp. in North America usually have obvious distinct markings that are absent in red-tails, whether the rufous-brown "beard" of [[Swainson's hawk]]s (''B.&nbsp;swainsonii'') or the colorful rufous belly and shoulder markings and striking black-and-white mantle of [[red-shouldered hawk]]s (also the small "windows" seen at the end of their primaries).<ref name="Robbins">{{cite book |last1=Robbins |first1=C.S. |last2=Bruun |first2=B. |last3=Zim |first3=H.S. |year=2001 |title=Birds of North America: A guide to field identification |publisher=Macmillan }}</ref> In perched individuals, even as silhouettes, the shape of large ''Buteo''&nbsp;spp. may be distinctive, such as the wingtips overhanging the tail in several other species, but not in red-tails. North American ''Buteo''&nbsp;spp. range from the dainty, compact builds of much smaller ones, such as [[broad-winged hawk]] (''B.&nbsp;platypterus'') to the heavyset, neckless look of [[ferruginous hawk]]s or the [[rough-legged buzzard]]s, which have a compact, smaller appearance than a red-tail in perched birds due to its small bill, short neck, and much shorter tarsi, while the opposite effect occurs in flying rough-legs with their much bigger wing area.<ref name="Ferguson-Lees" /><ref name="Robbins" /> 

In flight, most other large North American ''Buteo''&nbsp;spp. are distinctly longer and more slender-winged than red-tailed hawks, with the much paler ferruginous hawk having peculiarly slender wings in relation to its massive, chunky body. Swainson's hawks are distinctly darker on the wing and ferruginous hawks are much paler-winged than typical red-tailed hawks. Pale morph adult ferruginous hawk can show mildly tawny-pink (but never truly rufous) upper tail, and like red-tails tend to have dark markings on underwing-coverts and can have a dark belly band, but compared to red-tailed hawks have a distinctly broader head, their [[Flight feathers|remiges]] are much whiter looking with very small, dark primary tips, they lack the red-tail's diagnostic patagial marks and usually also lack the dark subterminal tail-band, and ferruginous hawks have  totally feathered tarsi. With its whitish head, the ferruginous hawk is most similar to Krider's red-tailed hawks, especially in immature plumage, but the larger hawk has broader head and narrower wing shape, and the ferruginous immatures are paler underneath and on their legs.  

Several species share a belly band with the typical red-tailed hawk, but they vary from subtle (as in the ferruginous hawk) to solid blackish, the latter in most light-morph [[rough-legged buzzard]]s.<ref name="Ferguson-Lees" /><ref name="Brown" /> More difficult to identify among adult red-tails are their darkest variations, as most species of ''Buteo'' in North America also have dark morphs. Western dark morph red-tails (i.e. ''B.&nbsp;j.&nbsp;calurus'') adults, however, retain the typical distinctive brick-red tail, which other species lack, and may stand out even more against the otherwise all chocolate-brown to black bird. Standard pale juveniles when perched show a whitish patch in the outer half of the upper surface of the wing, which other juvenile ''Buteo''&nbsp;spp. lack.<ref name="CRPreston" /> 

The most difficult to identify stages and plumage types are dark morph juveniles, Harlan's hawk and some Krider's hawks (the latter mainly with typical ferruginous hawks as mentioned). Some darker juveniles are similar enough to other ''Buteo'' juveniles that they "cannot be identified to species with any confidence under various field conditions."<ref name="Palmer" /><ref name="CRPreston" /> However, field identification techniques have advanced in the last few decades and most experienced hawk-watchers can distinguish even the most vexingly plumaged immature hawks, especially as the wing shapes of each species becomes apparent after seeing many. Harlan's hawks are most similar to dark morph [[rough-legged buzzard]]s and dark morph [[ferruginous hawk]]s. Wing shape is the most reliable identification tool for distinguishing Harlan's hawks from these, but also the pale streaking on the breast of Harlan's, which tends to be conspicuous in most individuals, and is lacking in the other hawks. Also, dark morph ferruginous hawks do not have the dark subterminal band of a Harlan's hawk, but do bear a black undertail covert lacking in Harlan's.<ref name="Ferguson-Lees" /><ref name="Harlan">{{cite journal |last1=Liguori |first1=J. |last2=Sullivan |first2=B.L.|year=2010|title=Comparison of Harlan's hawk with Eastern & Western Red-tailed Hawks|journal=Birding|pages=30–37}}</ref>
[[File:Red-tailed Hawk, Fort Collins, Colorado.jpg|thumb|Characteristic brick-red tail of Red-tailed Hawk.]]
[[File:Red-tailed Hawk, Fort Collins, CO.png|thumb|Red-tailed Hawk, Fort Collins, Colorado]]

=== Vocalization ===
The cry of the red-tailed hawk is a 2–3&nbsp;second, hoarse, rasping scream, variously transcribed as ''kree-eee-ar'', ''tsee-eeee-arrr'' or ''sheeeeee'',<ref name="Avian" /> that begins at a high pitch and slurs downward.<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref name= Brown/><ref name="NY" /> This cry is often described as sounding similar to a steam whistle.<ref name="ADW" /><ref name= Brown/> The red-tailed hawk frequently vocalizes while hunting or soaring, but vocalizes loudest and most persistently in defiance or anger, in response to a predator or a rival hawk's intrusion into its territory.<ref name= Brown/><ref name=Avian/> At close range, it makes a croaking ''guh-runk'', possibly as a warning sound.<ref name="Oregon">{{cite web |title=Red-tailed hawk |department=Birds of prey cards |website=oregonzoo.org |place=Portland, OR |publisher=[[Oregon Zoo]] |url=http://www.oregonzoo.org/Cards/BirdsOfPrey/redtailedhawk.htm |access-date=16 June 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070806054238/http://www.oregonzoo.org/Cards/BirdsOfPrey/redtailedhawk.htm |archive-date=6 August 2007 }}</ref> 

Nestlings may give peeping notes with a "soft, sleepy quality" that give way to occasional screams as they develop, but those are more likely to be a soft whistle rather than the harsh screams of the adults. Their latter hunger call, given from 11 days (as recorded in Alaska) to  after fledgling (in California), is different, a two-syllabled, wailing ''klee-uk'' food cry exerted by the young when parents leave the nest or enter their field of vision.<ref name="Palmer" /><ref name="Hawk Trust">{{cite web |title=Red-tailed Hawk – ''Buteo jamaicensis'' |publisher=[[Hawk Conservancy Trust]] |url=http://www.hawk-conservancy.org/priors/redtail.shtml |access-date=5 June 2007 }}</ref> A strange mechanical sound "not very unlike the rush of distant water" has been reported as uttered in the midst of a sky-dance.<ref name="Palmer" /> A modified call of ''chirp-chwirk'' is given during courtship, while a low key, duck-like nasal ''gank'' may be given by pairs when they are relaxed.<ref name="Brown" />

The fierce, screaming cry of the adult red-tailed hawk is frequently used as a generic [[Bird of prey|raptor]] sound effect in Hollywood movies, television shows and other media, even if the bird featured is not a red-tailed hawk.<ref name=SDZoo>{{cite web |title=Red-Tailed Hawk |series=Animal Bytes |website=sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes |publisher=[[San Diego Zoo]] |url=http://www.sandiegozoo.org/animalbytes/t-red_tailed_hawk.html |access-date=3 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |title=Raptor porn: The ridiculous proliferation of the red-tail call |date=2013-12-28 |df=dmy-all |magazine=[[Salon (magazine)|Salon]] |url=http://www.salon.com/2013/12/28/raptor_porn_the_ridiculous_proliferation_of_the_red_tail_call/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131228012002/http://www.salon.com/2013/12/28/raptor_porn_the_ridiculous_proliferation_of_the_red_tail_call/ |archive-date=28 December 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Hollywood's Voice of Choice |url=https://mdc.mo.gov/blogs/discover-nature-notes/hollywoods-voice-choice-0 |access-date=2025-03-27 |website=Missouri Department of Conservation |language=en}}</ref> It is especially used in depictions of the [[bald eagle]], which contributes to the [[List of common misconceptions#Birds|common misconception]] that it is a bald eagle cry; actual bald eagle vocalizations are far softer and more chirpy than those of a red-tailed hawk.<ref>{{cite news |first=Jessica |last=Robinson |date=2 July 2012 |title=Bald eagle: A mighty symbol, with a not-so-mighty voice |website=npr.org |publisher=[[NPR]] |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=156187375 |access-date=2019-08-23 |df=dmy-all }}</ref>