Daily Postcard: Red-tailed Hawk Sits Atop Tree At Bandelier

Daily Postcard: Driving to or from Bandelier National Monument, it is not unusual to see a large bird sitting upon a telephone pole or at the top of a tree such as this Red-tailed Hawk spotted Saturday. If the bird’s head is a rich chocolatey brown, the wings a dark mottled brown, and the belly pale with a darker band, the bird you see is almost certainly a Red-tailed. Should that bird take flight while you pass by the identification could be confirmed by the bird spreading its distinctive red tail. Red-tails are among the biggest Buteo hawks in North America, second only to the Ferruginous Hawk. They’re built to soar, with wingspans that average more than four feet. As is common in raptors, females are larger than males. Red-tailed Hawks are admirable hunters. Using excellent eyesight, they scan the ground while soaring in wide circles or while perching on a tree or telephone pole, a bird’s eye view if there ever was one. Then, with wings built for flight, they descend to snatch up their prey—usually a rodent or other small mammal, but sometimes a snake or another bird—with long talons. The call of a Red-tailed Hawk is so impressive that movie makers use it frequently as the cry of other birds like eagles and turkey vultures. However, no other bird makes the territorial scream of this common hawk. Courtesy/BNM

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