In my most recent post, I described Swainson’s Hawks as raptors with one of the more highly variable plumage of any North American raptor. In today’s post, I want to talk a little bit about the most common and widespread hawk in the US: the Red-tailed Hawk. This is also a species with varied color phases ranging from light to dark. Those variations are referred to as “morphs”. Below is a typical looking Western Red-tailed Hawk, seen recently west of town. This bird is a light-morph, the most common variation that we see in Arizona.
Perhaps 85% of all Western Red-tailed Hawks are light-morph like the one in the photo above. Most of the rest of the Western Red-tailed Hawks are considered a rufous-morph. The rufous-morph in the following photo has a rich reddish-brown breast along with a solid brown belly.
When this bird took to the air, it showed the typical underwing plumage of a rufous-morph Red-tailed Hawk. The wing linings (in the armpit and inner wing area) are very dark. The feathers used for flight are white with thin dark bars running through them.
In flight you can see all of the plumage characteristics of a rufous-morph Red-tailed Hawk. The rufous or cinnamon colored breast contrasts with the brown belly. In the wings, you can see the dark patagial marks, the leading edge of the wings typical of Red-tailed Hawk. The wing linings are dark and the flight feathers are light.
Red-tailed Hawks have been described as having a blocky head. The heavy brow over its eye gives a Red-tail a very fierce, intense look.
Although they look muscular and bulky, Red-tailed Hawks seem to be able to fly with little effort. They use strong and steady wingbeats.
Red-tailed Hawks will use those continuous and powerful wingbeats until they are comfortably in the air. Then they switch their flight efforts into a flap-and-glide pattern. That intermittent gliding helps to conserve energy.
Seeing this beautiful rufous-morph Red-tailed Hawk was a treat. I hope that it is a winter visitor that I may come across throughout this season. If you are interested in learning more about Red-tailed Hawks, Audubon shares “10 Fun Facts” about them.