The Red-shouldered Hawk often inhabits lowland, wet areas, where it preys on the snakes, frogs and other aquatic animals and small mammals that also prefer this type of habitat. This raptor relies on its keen sight while hunting. It tends to watch quietly from a perch; when it spots its prey, it swoops down on it. During courtship, this hawk performs impressive aerial maneuvers, spiraling upwards, then folding its wings and diving down, catching itself, and spiraling up again. Sometimes other pairs may join in, with as many as ten birds taking part in the display.

Length: 40.6 - 43.2 cm (16 - 17 inches)

Physical characteristics:
This hawk has a brown head with a mottled reddish-orange breast. The belly is paler with reddish-orange barring. The reddish patches on the shoulders (on the upper side of the wing) account for its name. The back and wings are dark with white barring. The tail is colored with brown and white bands. The female is slightly larger than the male, although both are marked similarly.

Breeding habitat:
The Red-shouldered Hawk prefers mature mixed deciduous-coniferous woodlands, either upland or in riparian areas, and wooded swamps for its nesting habitat. It is often associated with water.

Mating system:
Monogamous; one brood is produced per nesting season.

Nest:
The nest is constructed of sticks, twigs, bark strips, dry leaves, moss, lichen and pine needles, and lined with green leaves and conifer sprigs. It is usually located more than one-half to two-thirds up a tree on a crotch in the main trunk. Both sexes participate in building the nest. Nests may be reused for many years.

Eggs:
The female lays 2 - 4 eggs in a clutch. They are white to bluish-white in color, often marked with browns. 53mm (2.1'').

Chick development:
Both sexes incubate, although the female does most of the sitting. The male feeds her while she is on the nest. Incubation lasts about 28 - 33 days. The chicks are semi-altricial at hatching. Both parents feed the young. Fledging occurs after 5 - 6 weeks in the nest, but the parents continue to feed the fledglings for as long as 8 - 10 more weeks.

Diet:
The diet of the Red-shouldered Hawk consists of small mammals, frogs, crayfish, snakes and other small reptiles, large insects and small birds. This bird forages by hunting from a perch. When it spots its prey, it drops down to snatch it from the ground or water with its talons.

CONSERVATION BIOLOGY:
The numbers of the Red-shouldered Hawk are declining, most likely due to habitat alteration and destruction. It has been considered a species of special concern in several states, mostly in the Midwest.

Breeding:
In the East, the Red-shouldered Hawk is found from the eastern edge of the Great Plains to the Atlantic coast. The heaviest populations are in the Southeast, particularly on the Gulf Coast. In the West, it is found on the California coast from the northern regions south to Baja. Click on the map on the left to see the breeding range as determined by the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS).

Winter: This species is a partial migrant. Only those birds in the northern portion of the breeding range move south for the winter. Click on the map on the left to see the winter range as determined by the Christmas Bird Count (CBC).

The Red-shouldered Hawk is an uncommon year-round resident bird species in the Park. This species is most likely to be observed in low elevations and open areas in the park. In a survey of breeding birds in the park, performed from 1996-1999, six Red-shouldered Hawks were observed during the breeding season, all on the western side of the park.

References:

Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of the American Ornithologists' Union. 2000. Forty-second supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds. The Auk 117: 847-858.

Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of the American Ornithologists' Union. 2002. Forty-third supplement to the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list of North American Birds. The Auk 119: 897-906.

Committee on Classification and Nomenclature of the American Ornithologists' Union. 1998. Check-list of North American Birds: the Species of Birds of North America from the Arctic through Panama, including the West Indies and Hawaiian Islands, 7th ed

Crocoll, S. T. 1994. Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus). In The Birds of North America, No. 107 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, DC: The American Ornithologists? Union.

Ehrlich, P. R., D. S. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The Birder's Handbook: a Field Guide to the Natural History of North American Birds. Simon and Schuster, Inc., New York.

Elphick, C., J. B. Dunning, Jr., and D. A. Sibley, eds. 2001. The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.

Gough, G. A., Sauer, J. R., Iliff, M. Patuxent Bird Identification Infocenter. 1998. Version 97.1. Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, Laurel, MD. http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/infocenter.html.

Sibley, D. A. 2000. The Sibley Guide to Birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.

Stupka, A. 1963. Notes on the Birds of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. University of Tennessee Press.