Red-shouldered hawk

Red Shoulder Hawk

COMMON NAME: Red-shouldered hawk
SCIENTIFIC NAME: Buteo lineatus

DESCRIPTION:
15 – 19” tall. Brown back with extensive spotting, rusty-red shoulder patches are not always conspicuous, under parts from his throat to tail are barred with brown, red and white, tail is banded in black and white.

LIFE HISTORY:
Life Span: One wild bird was banded, recaptured and released when 20 years old.

Eggs: Oval, smooth shell, dull white with a variety of brown spots, streaks and blotches.

Clutch size: 3, often 4; both female and male incubate for 28 days.

Nest: Often close to the tree trunk. Well built of twigs and sticks; lined with strips of bark, leaves, mosses, feathers, and sprigs of evergreen, the outside diameter is 18 – 24”. The pair has a strong attachment to their nesting territory.

ECOLOGY:
Habitat: He lives in areas of wooded river bottoms, along streams, in moist mixed woodlands or in lowland wet places.

Food: He eats mice, shrews, moles, tree squirrels, chipmunks, as well as, an occasional bird or reptile.
Ecosystem: Red-shouldered hawk is a resident in California west of the high Sierra Nevadas.

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