Red-tailed hawk / Rotschwanzbussard (Buteo jamaicensis)

Red-tailed hawk at Cromwell. 2022-04-29 12:30:10 New Jersey NIKON D5600 ISO 280
Exposure 0.001
Classification: Genus Hawks (Buteo); Subfamily Buteoninae; Family Accipitridae
General: 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 within the genus of Buteo in North America or worldwide.^[2] The red-tailed hawk is one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "chickenhawk", though it rarely preys on standard-sized chickens.^[3] The bird is sometimes also referred to as the red-tail for short, when the meaning is clear in context. Red-tailed hawks can acclimate to all the biomes within their range, occurring on the edges of non-ideal habitats such as dense forests and sandy deserts.^[4] The red-tailed hawk occupies a wide range of habitats and altitudes including deserts, grasslands, coniferous and deciduous forests, agricultural fields and urban areas. Its latitudinal limits fall around the tree line in the Arctic and the species is absent from the high Arctic. It is legally protected in Canada, Mexico, and the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. [more]

First documented observation: 2022-04-29 in New Jersey. Most recent observation: 2024-10-02 in Chambersburg, PA.