--- title: "Red-Tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) | AnimalTracks.wiki" description: "The copper-tailed hawk whose cry voices bald eagles in TV ads." image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/images/animals/red-tailed-hawk-1.webp" published: "2026-10-11" updated: "2026-10-11" --- # Red-Tailed Hawk (*Buteo jamaicensis*) > **Status**: Checked against 4 sources, listed under Sources below. > **Tagline**: The copper-tailed hawk whose cry voices bald eagles in TV ads. > **Soundtrack Vibe**: Art Punk & Experimental Post-Punk // Yeah Yeah Yeahs, "Date With The Night" > **Soundtrack Links**: [Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/21M6YAySMPv9qQwtqIL42A) > **Vibe Match**: The red-tail's powerful cry is the one TV commercials showing bald eagles use in place of the eagle's own. Date With The Night is carried by the same kind of sound: Karen O's yelps and screams cut over the guitar like a raptor's call. ## Biological Superpowers & Stats - **Taxonomy**: *Buteo jamaicensis* - **Danger Level**: Low - **Conservation Status**: Least Concern ([IUCN Red List](https://doi.org/10.2305/iucn.uk.2024-2.rlts.t22695933a264594226.en)) - **Superpower**: Sees ultraviolet colours humans cannot - **Habitat**: Typically open country with scattered perches, from Alaska to Panama and the West Indies - **Diet**: Mostly rodents such as ground squirrels and mice, plus birds, reptiles, insects and fish - **Tags**: bird, raptor-bird, carnivore, grassland, aerial-hunter ## Natural History & Behavior ## Eyes that read ultraviolet Like all raptors, the red-tailed hawk (*Buteo jamaicensis*) has excellent vision. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says red-tails see colours much as people do, plus colours in the ultraviolet range, which humans cannot see. A clear inner eyelid, the nictitating membrane, cleans and protects the eye while the hawk grapples with its prey. > **Borrowed voice** > TV commercials about bald eagles use a red-tailed hawk's cry instead. To advertisers, the hawk simply sounds grander and more like an eagle than the real thing. ## Copper tail, bigger females Wingspan runs 41 to 53 inches (105 to 135 centimetres). A female stands 20 to 26 inches (50 to 65 centimetres) tall and weighs 2 to 3 pounds (900 to 1,400 grams). Males are smaller, at 1.5 to 2.9 pounds (690 to 1,300 grams). Animal Diversity Web adds that females are about 25 percent larger than males, a size gap common among birds of prey. The tail that gives the bird its name is copper-coloured in adults, while juveniles do not have red tails. ## Wait, then strike For all their soaring ability, the zoo says red-tails wait on a perch for prey instead of hunting from high above. Most often they launch hard off the perch, glide down and grab a meal on the ground. Rodents make up about 95 percent of what they eat, mainly ground squirrels and mice; birds, reptiles, insects and even fish caught at the water's edge are also taken. The hawk then has to defend its catch from golden eagles, bald eagles and ferruginous hawks. Life is hard: half of all red-tails die before their first birthday. ## From Alaska to Panama Red-tails live from Alaska south to Panama, and east from California into the West Indies. They avoid tundra and thick forest but are more adaptable than any other hawk in their genus, living in deserts, plains, farmland, parks, woodlands and even tropical rainforests. A red-tail tends to keep the same territory its whole life, and it can be as large as 25 square kilometres (9.6 square miles). Birds from Canada and Alaska fly as far south as Panama for winter. Those that survive can last a while. AnAge says wild birds do not normally live more than 16 years, though the record in the wild is 30.7 years. The IUCN rates the species Least Concern. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### How big is a red-tailed hawk? San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance gives a wingspan of 41 to 53 inches (105 to 135 centimetres). Females weigh 2 to 3 pounds and males 1.5 to 2.9 pounds. *(Source: [San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance]())* ### Is the eagle scream in TV ads really a red-tailed hawk? Yes. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says commercials showing bald eagles use the red-tailed hawk's cry. To advertisers, the hawk sounds more regal than the eagle itself. *(Source: [San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance]())* ### How long do red-tailed hawks live? Once grown, about 6 to 7 years on average, according to AnAge. A wild one rarely passes 16, and the oldest wild bird on its record reached 30.7 years. *(Source: [AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Human Ageing Genomic Resources]())* ### Can a red-tailed hawk see colours we cannot? Yes. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says red-tails see the usual colours plus ultraviolet, a range invisible to people. *(Source: [San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance]())* ## Sources 1. [Red-tailed Hawk. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance.]() 2. [AnAge entry for Buteo jamaicensis. AnAge: The Animal Ageing and Longevity Database, Human Ageing Genomic Resources.]() 3. [Buteo jamaicensis (red-tailed hawk). Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan.]() 4. [Buteo jamaicensis. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2024: e.T22695933A264594226.]() *Published October 11, 2026. 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