Editing Red-tailed hawk (section)

== Behavior ==
[[File:Redtail hawk chased by crows 4391.jpg|thumb|left|Red-tailed hawks frequently have to cope with [[Mobbing (animal behavior)|mobbing]] by crows.]]
[[File:20250119 red tailed hawk hockanum river linear trail wm2.webm|thumb|left|Red-tailed hawk on a perch, scanning for prey]]
The red-tailed hawk is highly conspicuous to humans in much of its daily behavior. Most birds in resident populations, which are well more than half of all red-tailed hawks, usually split nonbreeding-season activity between territorial soaring flight and sitting on a perch. Often, perching is for hunting purposes, but many sit on a tree branch for hours, occasionally stretching on a single wing or leg to keep limber, with no signs of hunting intent.<ref name= Palmer/><ref name= CRPreston/><ref name= Bent/> Wintering typical pale-morph hawks in [[Arkansas]] were found to perch in open areas near the top of tall, isolated trees, whereas dark morphs more frequently perched in dense groups of trees.<ref name= CRPreston/> 

For many, and perhaps most, red-tailed hawks being [[Mobbing (animal behavior)|mobbed]] by various birds is a daily concern and can effectively disrupt many of their daily behaviors. Mostly larger [[passerine]]s, of multiple families from [[tyrant flycatcher]]s to [[icterid]]s,  mob red-tails, despite other raptors, such as ''Accipiter'' hawks and falcons, being a notably greater danger to them.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Knight, R. L., & Temple, S. A. |title=Nest-Defense Behavior in the Red-Winged Blackbird|journal=The Condor|volume=90|issue=1|pages=193–200|url=https://sora.unm.edu/node/103929|doi=10.2307/1368448|jstor=1368448|year=1988|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author=Chandler, C. R., & Rose, R. K. |year=1988|title=Comparative Analysis of the Effects of Visual and Auditory Stimuli on Avian Mobbing Behavior |url=https://sora.unm.edu/node/51421|journal=Journal of Field Ornithology|pages= 269–277|volume=59|issue=3 }}</ref> The most aggressive and dangerous attacker as such is likely to be various [[crow]]s or other [[corvid]]s, i.e. [[American crow]]s (''Corvus brachyrhynchos''), because a mobbing group (or "murder") of them can number up to as many as 75 crows, which may cause grievous physical harm to a solitary hawk, and if the hawks are nesting, separate the parent hawks and endanger the eggs or nestlings within their nest to predation by crows.<ref>McGowan, K. J. (2001). "Demographic and behavioral comparisons of suburban and rural American Crows". In ''Avian ecology and conservation in an urbanizing world''. Springer US. pp. 365–381. {{ISBN|978-1-4615-1531-9}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.1111/j.1439-0310.1985.tb01375.x|title=Functional interrelationships among the mobbing and alarm caws of Common Crows (''Corvus brachyrhynchos'')|journal=Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie|volume=67|issue=1–4|pages=17–33|year=2010|last1=Brown|first1=Eleanor D.}}</ref> Birds that mob red-tailed hawks can tell how distended the hawk's crop is (i.e., the upper chest and throat area being puffy versus flat-feathered and sleek), thus mob more often when the hawk is presumably about to hunt.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Hamerstrom, F.|title=The Influence of a Hawk's Appetite on Mobbing|journal=The Condor|volume=59|issue=3|pages=192–194|doi=10.2307/1364723|jstor=1364723|url=https://sora.unm.edu/node/100897|year=1957|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

=== Flight ===
[[File:Red-tailed Hawk (Audubon).jpg|thumb|Red-tailed hawks engaging in an inflight battle over prey, painted by [[John James Audubon]]]]
In flight, this hawk soars with wings often in a slight [[Dihedral (aeronautics)|dihedral]], flapping as little as possible to conserve energy. Soaring is by far the most efficient method of flight for red-tailed hawks, so is used more often than not.<ref name= Ballam>{{cite journal|author=Ballam, J. M. |year=1984|title=The use of soaring by the Red-tailed Hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'')|journal=The Auk|pages= 519–524|volume=101|issue=3|url=https://sora.unm.edu/node/23996|jstor=4086604|doi=10.1093/auk/101.3.519|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Active flight is slow and deliberate, with deep wing beats. Wing beats are somewhat less rapid in active flight than in most other ''Buteo'' hawks, even heavier species such as ferruginous hawks tend to flap more swiftly, due to the morphology of the wings.<ref>{{cite journal|pmid=16477604|url=https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/87ed/457a403bd48158ea835dd08a9a48c3019149.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190213123852/https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/87ed/457a403bd48158ea835dd08a9a48c3019149.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=2019-02-13|doi=10.1002/jmor.10425|title=Comparison of wing morphology in three birds of prey: Correlations with differences in flight behavior|journal=Journal of Morphology|volume=267|issue=5|pages=612–622|year=2006|last1=Corvidae|first1=Elaine L.|last2=Bierregaard|first2=Richard O.|last3=Peters|first3=Susan E.|s2cid=2484938}}</ref> 

In wind, it occasionally hovers on beating wings and remains stationary above the ground, but this flight method is rarely employed by this species.<ref name="Preston" /><ref name="Land" /> When soaring or flapping its wings, it typically travels from {{convert|32|to|64|km/h|mi/h|abbr=on}}, but when diving may exceed {{convert|190|km/h|mi/h|abbr=on}}.<ref name="NY">{{cite web|url=http://www.nysite.com/nature/fauna/redhawk.htm|archive-url=https://archive.today/19970627092314/http://www.nysite.com/nature/fauna/redhawk.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 June 1997|author=Day, Leslie|publisher=[[79th Street Boat Basin]] Flora and Fauna Society|title=The City Naturalist – Red Tailed Hawk|access-date=17 June 2007}}</ref> Although North American red-tailed hawks will occasionally hunt from flight, a great majority of flight by red-tails in this area is for non-hunting purpose.<ref name="Ballam" /> During nest defense, red-tailed hawks may be capable of surprisingly swift, vigorous flight, while repeatedly diving at perceived threats.<ref name="Knight">{{cite journal|author=Knight, R. L., Andersen, D. E., Bechard, M. J., & Marr, N. V.|title=Geographic variation in nest-defence behaviour of the Red-tailed Hawk ''Buteo jamaicensis''|journal=Ibis|volume=131|pages=22–26|url=http://globalraptors.org/grin/researchers/uploads/529/geographic_variation_knight_et_al..pdf|doi=10.1111/j.1474-919X.1989.tb02739.x|year=2008|access-date=13 February 2019|archive-date=8 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808225104/http://www.globalraptors.org/grin/researchers/uploads/529/geographic_variation_knight_et_al..pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Migration===
Red-tailed hawks are considered partial migrants, as in about the northern third of their distribution, which is most of their range in Canada and Alaska, they almost entirely vacate their breeding grounds.<ref name= Ferguson-Lees/><ref name= Preston/> In coastal areas of the north, however, such as in the [[Pacific Northwest]]  to southern Alaska and in [[Nova Scotia]] on the Atlantic, red-tailed hawks do not usually migrate.<ref name= Palmer/> More or less, any area where snow cover is nearly continuous during the winter shows an extended absence of most red-tailed hawks, so some areas as far south as Montana may show strong seasonal vacancies of red-tails.<ref name= Palmer/> In southern Michigan, immature red-tailed hawks tended to remain in winter only when voles were abundant. 

During relatively long,  harsh winters in Michigan, many more young ones were reported in northeastern Mexico.<ref name="Palmer" /><ref name="Craighead" /> To the opposite extreme, hawks residing as far north as [[Fairbanks]], Alaska, may persevere through the winter on their home territory, as was recorded with one male over three consecutive years.<ref name="Lowe">Lowe, C. 1978. ''Certain life history aspects of the Red-tailed Hawk, central Oklahoma and interior Alaska''. Master's Thesis, Univ. Alaska, Fairbanks.</ref> Birds of any age tend to be territorial during winter but may shift ranges whenever food requirements demand it.<ref name="Palmer" /> Wintering birds tend to perch on inconspicuous tree perches, seeking shelter especially if they have a full crop or are in the midst of poor or overly windy weather. Adult wintering red-tails tend to perch more prominently than immatures do, which select lower or more secluded perches. Immatures are often missed in winter bird counts, unless they are being displaced by dominant adults. Generally, though, immatures can seem to recognize that they are less likely to be attacked by adults during winter and can perch surprisingly close to them. Age is the most significant consideration of wintering hawks' hierarchy, but size does factor in, as larger immatures (presumably usually females) are less likely to displaced than smaller ones.<ref name="CRPreston" /><ref name="Palmer" /><ref name="Preston" /> 

Dark adult red-tailed hawks appear to be harder to locate when perched than other red-tails. In Oklahoma, for example, wintering adult Harlan's hawks were rarely engaged in fights or chased by other red-tails. These hawks tended to gather in regional pockets and frequently the same ones occurred year-to-year.<ref name="Lowe" /> In general, migratory behavior is complex and reliant on each individual hawk's decision-making (i.e. whether prey populations are sufficient to entice the hawk to endure prolonged snow cover).<ref name="Preston" /> During fall migration, departure may occur as soon as late September, but peak movements occur in late October and all of November in the United States, with migration ceasing after mid-December. The northernmost migrants may pass over resident red-tailed hawks in the contiguous United States, while the latter are still in the midst of brooding fledglings.<ref name="Palmer" /> Not infrequently, several autumn hawk watches in Ontario, Quebec, and the northern United States record 4,500–8,900 red-tailed hawks migrating through each fall, with records of up to 15,000 in a season at Hawk Ridge hawk watch in [[Duluth, Minnesota]].<ref name="Ferguson-Lees" /><ref>{{cite journal|author=Farmer, C. J., Bell, R. J., Drolet, B., Goodrich, L. J., Greenstone, E., Grove, D., & Sodergren, J. |year=2008|url=http://www.rpi-project.org/publications/TP-08.pdf |title=Trends in autumn counts of migratory raptors in northeastern North America, 1974–2004|journal= Series in Ornithology|volume=3|pages=179–215}}</ref> 

Unlike some other ''Buteo''&nbsp;spp., such as Swainson's hawks and broad-winged hawks, red-tailed hawks do not usually migrate in groups, instead passing by one-by-one, and only migrate on days when winds are favorable.<ref name="Ferguson-Lees" /><ref name="Palmer" /> Most migrants do not move past southern Mexico in late autumn, but a few North American migrants may annually move as far south as breeding red-tailed hawks happen to occur, i.e. in Central America to as far south Panama. However, a few records were reported of wintering migrant red-tails turning up in [[Colombia]], the first records of them anywhere in South America.<ref name="Ferguson-Lees" /><ref name="Preston" /><ref>{{cite journal|author=Castaño R, A. M. & Colorado G.J. |year=2002|title=First records of red-tailed hawk ''Buteo jamaicensis'' in Colombia|journal=Cotinga |volume= 18|pages= 102}}</ref> Spring northward movements may commence as early as late February, with peak numbers usually occurring in late March and early April. Seasonal counts may include up to 19,000 red-tails in spring at Derby Hill hawk watch, in [[Oswego, New York]], sometimes more than 5,000 are recorded in a day there.<ref name="Ferguson-Lees" /><ref>{{cite journal|author=Haugh, J. R., & Cade, T. J. |year=1966|title=The spring hawk migration around the southeastern shore of Lake Ontario|journal= The Wilson Bulletin|volume=78|issue=1 |pages= 88–110|jstor=4159454|url=https://sora.unm.edu/node/128271}}</ref> The most northerly migratory individuals may not reach breeding grounds until June, even adults.<ref name="Ferguson-Lees" /><ref name="Lowe" />

Immature hawks migrate later than adults in spring on average, but not, generally speaking, in autumn. In the northern Great Lakes, immatures return in late May to early June, when adults are already well into their nesting season and must find unoccupied ranges.<ref name= Palmer/> In Alaska, adults tend to migrate before immatures in early to mid-September, to the contrary of other areas, probably as heavy snowfall begins.<ref name= Lowe/><ref>{{cite journal|author=Luttich, S. N., L. B. Keith and J. D. Stephenson|year= 1971|title=Population dynamics of the Red-tailed Hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') at Rochester, Alberta|journal= Auk |issue=1|volume= 88|pages=75–87|url=https://sora.unm.edu/node/22072|doi= 10.2307/4083962|jstor= 4083962|doi-access=free}}</ref> Yearlings that were banded in southwestern [[Idaho]] stayed for about 2 months after fledging, and then traveled long distances with a strong directional bias, with 9 of 12 recovered southeast of the study area- six of these moved south to coastal lowlands in Mexico] and as far as Guatemala, {{convert|4205|km|mi|abbr=on}} from their initial banding.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Steenhof, K., Kochert, M. N., & Moritsch, M. Q. |year=1984|title=Dispersal and migration of southwestern Idaho raptors|journal= Journal of Field Ornithology|jstor=4512919 |volume= 55|issue=3|pages= 357–368|url=https://sora.unm.edu/node/51120}}</ref> In California, 35 hawks were banded as nestlings; 26 were recovered at less than 50 miles away, with multidirectional juvenile dispersals. Nestlings banded in Southern California sometimes actually traveled north as far as {{convert|1190|km|mi|abbr=on}} to Oregon, ranging to the opposite extreme as far as a banded bird from the [[Sierra Nevada]]s that moved {{convert|1700|km|mi|abbr=on}} south to [[Sinaloa]].<ref name= Palmer/><ref>{{cite journal|author=Hoffman, S. W., Smith, J. P., & Meehan, T. D. |year=2002|title=Breeding grounds, winter ranges, and migratory routes of raptors in the Mountain West|url=https://sora.unm.edu/node/53957 |journal=Journal of Raptor Research|volume= 36|issue=2|pages= 97–110}}</ref> Nestlings banded in [[Green County, Wisconsin]], did not travel very far comparatively by October–November, but by December, recoveries were found in states including Illinois, Iowa, Texas, Louisiana, and Florida.<ref name= Orians>{{cite journal|doi=10.2307/1365056 |jstor=1365056|url=https://sora.unm.edu/node/100838|title=Red-Tailed Hawk and Horned Owl Populations in Wisconsin|journal=The Condor|volume=58|issue=5|pages=371–385|year=1956|last1=Orians|first1=Gordon|last2=Kuhlman|first2=Frank|url-access=subscription}}</ref>