Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk: A bird of prey found all over North America. These birds are very adaptable and live in a variety of biomes. They are usually brown in coloration, lighter on the underbelly with a dark brown streak. Adults have reddish tail feathers, adolescents do not. Female Red-tailed Hawks are on average 25% bigger than males and weigh between 2 and 4.5 pounds. Males weight between 1.5 and 3 pounds.

There are Red-tailed Hawks on main campus and Lone Mountain. I see these birds very frequently in San Francisco and at home in Oregon. I identify them by their low dihedral, splayed wingtips, patagial markings and red tails, if present.