# Red-shouldered hawk
The **red-shouldered hawk** (*Buteo lineatus*) is a medium-sized North American forest hawk of the family [Accipitridae](https://www.edgepedia.org/accipitridae), named for the reddish patches on the shoulders of perched adults and recognized by barred reddish underparts, a black tail with narrow white bands, and a rising whistled "kee-rah" call.[1](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk) It breeds in wooded, often wet habitats across the eastern United States and in a separate population along the Pacific Coast, and it is listed as Low Concern.[1](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Scientific name | *Buteo lineatus*, order Accipitriformes, family Accipitridae[1](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk) |
| Size | Length 16.9–24.0 in (43–61 cm); weight 17.1–27.3 oz (486–774 g); wingspan 37.0–43.7 in (94–111 cm); noticeably smaller than a Red-tailed Hawk, larger than a Broad-winged Hawk[2](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk/id/) |
| Habitat | Bottomland hardwoods, flooded deciduous swamps, and upland mixed forests in the East; riparian and oak woodlands, eucalyptus groves, and residential areas in the West[3](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-shouldered_hawk/lifehistory) |
| Diet | Mostly small mammals, lizards, snakes, and amphibians; also toads, crayfish, and occasionally birds such as sparrows, starlings, and doves[3](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-shouldered_hawk/lifehistory) |
| Nesting | Stick nest about 2 feet across in the crotch of a large tree; clutch of 2–5 eggs, one brood, nestling period 42–49 days[3](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-shouldered_hawk/lifehistory) |
| Subspecies | Five described; the West Coast form is separated from the eastern forms by 1600 km (1000 mi)[1](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk) |
| Conservation | Low Concern; populations increased over 2% per year across most of the range from 1966 to 2019[1](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk) • [3](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-shouldered_hawk/lifehistory) |
## Identification
Mature birds are strikingly plumaged, showing wings patterned in a black-and-white checkerboard, a chest marked with warm red bars, and a black tail crossed by thin white stripes. Immatures are brown above and white below streaked with brown. All ages show narrow, pale, translucent crescents near the wingtips in flight, a field mark that identifies the species at a distance.[2](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk/id/) In flight the wings are broad and rounded with a medium-length tail that is fanned when soaring, and the wingtips are pushed slightly forward, giving a distinctive "reaching" posture.[2](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk/id/)
Plumage varies regionally. Northeastern birds tend to be brownish overall; Florida birds have very pale, grayish heads; and California birds are richly colored with a rusty head.[2](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk/id/) The California subspecies *elegans*, found from Oregon to [Baja California](https://www.edgepedia.org/baja-california), has a solid orange breast without the barring of eastern adults.[2](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk/id/) The northern form is the largest of the five subspecies, and the form in southern Florida is the palest, with a gray head and very faint chest barring.[1](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk)
## Similar species
The red-shouldered hawk is most often confused with the **red-tailed hawk** (*Buteo jamaicensis*), a larger and more common buteo of open country. Red-shouldered hawks are slimmer, with a banded black-and-white tail and warm brown barring below, while red-tailed hawks have a mostly unbanded red adult tail and streaks rather than barring on the underparts.[4](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk/species-compare/) Habitat is a useful clue: the red-shouldered hawk hunts within wooded, often wet areas, whereas the red-tailed hawk soars over fields and perches on poles and fenceposts.[2](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk/id/) Size comparisons can mislead because a large female red-shouldered hawk can exceed a small male red-tailed hawk.[5](https://www.birdfact.com/articles/red-tailed-hawk-vs-red-shouldered-hawk) Cooper's Hawks, Sharp-shinned Hawks, and Broad-winged Hawks are also compared with it by birders.[2](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk/id/)
## Habitat and hunting
Red-shouldered hawks are forest raptors that favor stands with an open subcanopy, which makes hunting easier. They are not confined to deep forest; they also occupy suburban areas where buildings are mixed into woodlands.[3](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-shouldered_hawk/lifehistory) They hunt from perches below the forest canopy or at the edge of a pond, sitting silently until prey is sighted, then descending swiftly to snatch a vole or chipmunk off the forest floor.[3](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-shouldered_hawk/lifehistory) In behavior they combine buteo and accipiter styles: they soar and circle with wings and tail spread like a typical buteo, but also flap quickly and glide through forest underneath the canopy the way a Cooper's Hawk does.[3](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-shouldered_hawk/lifehistory)
## Breeding and behavior
Nests are stick structures about 2 feet in diameter, lined with bark, moss, lichens, and conifer sprigs, placed in a broad-leaved tree (occasionally a conifer) below the canopy but toward the treetop, usually in the crotch of the main trunk. Nest trees are often near a pond, stream, or swamp, and can be in suburban neighborhoods or parks. Both sexes build or refurbish the nest, and fresh green leaves are added throughout the nesting season.[3](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-shouldered_hawk/lifehistory) Eggs are dull white or faint bluish with brown blotches, and nestlings hatch thickly covered with down.[3](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-shouldered_hawk/lifehistory)
On their territories the hawks are aggressive, sometimes locking talons with intruding hawks and attacking crows, Great Horned Owls, and even humans. The male's mating display is a "sky dance": he soars while calling, makes a series of steep dives toward the female, climbs back up in wide spirals after each descent, and finally dives rapidly to perch on the female's back.[3](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-shouldered_hawk/lifehistory) Pairs return to the same nesting territory year after year; one hawk occupied a territory in southern California for 16 consecutive years.[1](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk)
## Relationships with other birds
The American Crow often mobs the red-shouldered hawk, but the relationship runs both ways: the two species chase each other and steal food from each other, and they may jointly attack a Great Horned Owl and drive it from the hawk's territory.[1](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk) The Great Horned Owl often takes nestling red-shouldered hawks, but the hawk occasionally turns the tables; in one observation, while a red-shouldered hawk chased a Great Horned Owl, its mate took a young owl from its nest and ate it.[1](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk) In the East, Blue Jays give a near-perfect imitation of the hawk's whistled call, so the sound alone does not confirm the species.[6](https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/red-shouldered-hawk)
## Conservation and population
The species is rated Low Concern, and Breeding Bird Survey data show populations increased over 2% per year throughout most of the range between 1966 and 2019.[1](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk) • [3](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-shouldered_hawk/lifehistory) The biggest threat is continued clearing of wooded habitat.[3](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-shouldered_hawk/lifehistory) During 2000 banding work in California, a female red-shouldered hawk, the longest-lived on record, was caught and set free again after having reached a minimum age of 25 years and 10 months; her original banding had also taken place in that state, back in 1974.[1](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk)
## References
1. [Red-shouldered Hawk Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk)
2. [Red-shouldered Hawk Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk/id/)
3. [Red-shouldered Hawk Life History, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-shouldered_hawk/lifehistory)
4. [Similar Species to Red-shouldered Hawk, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology](https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk/species-compare/)
5. [Red-tailed Hawk vs Red-shouldered Hawk: What Are The Differences? Birdfact](https://www.birdfact.com/articles/red-tailed-hawk-vs-red-shouldered-hawk)
6. [Red-shouldered Hawk, Audubon Field Guide](https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/red-shouldered-hawk)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Animals › Vertebrates › Birds › Birds of prey and owls*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license