Western Red-Tailed Hawk: CIC Exhibit

The Red-Tailed Hawk: Nature’s Jack of All Trades

CIC Museum Research Document (Created 2/19/2026) Photograph by Aidan McCarthy. All rights reserved.

Flying overhead with steady wings and a piercing cry, the Red-tailed hawk is a familiar and powerful presence in the skies above Grays Harbor County. From open agricultural fields and coastal estuaries to forest edges and rural roads, this adaptable raptor is often seen perched high in tall trees or balanced atop telephone poles, scanning the ground below for prey. The red-tailed hawk is the largest hawk in North America, with wingspans ranging from 43 to 57 inches. Adults are best recognized by their iconic brick-red tail and pale underside, often marked with a dark “belly band”. Their sharp, rasping shriek is so iconic that it is frequently used in films and television as the call of a bald eagle, even when a different species is shown on screen.

Found from Alaska to South America, red-tailed hawks inhabit an extraordinary range of environments. From deserts and grasslands to dense forests, farmland, and even cities and suburbs they persevere, making them the most widespread hawk in North America. Their ability to hunt a wide variety of prey and adapt to changing conditions has earned them a reputation as nature’s 'jack of all trades'.

The Diversity of Red-Tailed Hawks

There are currently at least 16 recognized subspecies of the Red-tailed hawk, each differing in overall size, plumage color, and regional adaptations. 

Here in Washington, including Grays Harbor County, the most common type of red-tailed hawk is the Western Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis calurus). One of the most interesting things about this hawk is how different individuals can look from one another, even though they are the same type of bird. These natural color variations are called “morphs,” which simply means different color forms within the same group.

Some Western red-tailed hawks are light-colored, with pale undersides and a darker band across the belly. Others are much darker overall, appearing deep brown or even chocolate-colored. There are also hawks that fall somewhere in between, showing a mix of both patterns. What makes this western group unique is how common and noticeable these different color forms are, since most other red-tailed hawk subspecies tend to look much more alike.

Urban Adaptor Raptors:

When the first white settlers in North America began clearing land for agriculture and industry, they stripped away the dense grasses, forest canopies, and sheltered habitats that once protected small mammals. As forests were fragmented and open fields expanded, prey species became more exposed. These newly created edges and open landscapes made it easier for raptors to spot, pursue, and capture small animals, ultimately reshaping predator–prey dynamics across the region. As human development expanded, so did the hawks. Over the past 50 years, their population has grown by an estimated 106% in the Americas, with a current global population of roughly 3.1 million birds. 

Red-tailed hawks have historically been on the Grays Harbor landscape for hundreds of thousands of years, but their population has greatly increased in the area due to land development. Red-tailed hawks are urban adaptors, able to survive and even thrive in landscapes heavily shaped by people. Human activity attracts rodents such as mice and rats, known as urban exploiters because they take advantage of food and shelter in cities and agricultural areas. Where rodents gather, hawks follow. 

Here in Grays Harbor, red-tailed hawks can often be spotted on the powerlines above the Olympic Highway scanning forest edges and farmland for potential prey. Their presence benefits our communities and our ecosystems. As skilled rodent hunters, red-tailed hawks help control both introduced and nonintroduced species, reducing crop damage and limiting the spread of rodent-borne diseases. Under ideal conditions, a single red-tailed hawk can consume 365 to 1,095 prey items per year, with about 85-90% being rodents depending on range and habitat.

Protecting our Raptors

The red-tailed hawk’s expansion across the Americas tells a complex story of coexistence. Human-altered landscapes have created abundant hunting opportunities, yet they have also introduced new and often deadly challenges. 

Despite their resilience, life alongside people can be hazardous for the red-tailed hawk. The leading causes of death for this and many other raptor species are human-related, including vehicle strikes while hunting along roadsides, electrocution on power poles, collisions with utility lines, and secondary poisoning after consuming rodents exposed to rodenticides. Small, everyday choices can help reduce these risks. Slowing down when hawks are hunting near roadways can prevent vehicle strikes, especially in open areas where they often scan for prey. Avoiding the use of rodenticides is equally important, as these poisons can move up the food chain and harm hawks that feed on exposed rodents. Supporting safer infrastructure, such as bird-safe power poles and properly marked utility lines, can also reduce collisions and electrocution. Even simple actions like preserving natural habitat and minimizing disturbance near nesting sites can help ensure red-tailed hawks continue to thrive alongside us for many years to come.

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Sources

1. National Geographic. (2015). Red-Tailed Hawk: National Geographic. Animals. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/facts/red-tailed-hawk
2. Kranking, C. (2025, July 9). 10 fun facts about the red-tailed hawk. Audubon. https://www.audubon.org/magazine/10-fun-facts-about-red-tailed-hawk
3. The red-tailed hawk is described as a “jack-of-all-trades.” Hawk Mountain Sanctuary. (n.d.-b). https://www.hawkmountain.org/raptors/red-tailed-hawk
4. Audubon Society. (n.d.). Red-Tailed Hawk. Audubon. https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/red-tailed-hawk#:~:text=Conservation%20Status,Take%20Action
5. McKinney, Michael L. (2002) "Urbanization, biodiversity, and conservation: the impacts of urbanization on native species are poorly studied, but educating a highly urbanized human population about these impacts can greatly improve species conservation in all ecosystems." Bioscience 52.10: 883-890.
6. Dewey, D. Arnold. (2002) “Buteo jamaicensis.” Animal Diversity Web, https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Buteo_jamaicensis/. Accessed 23 Feb. 2026.