Red-Shouldered Hawk

The red-shouldered hawk is a medium-sized hawk.  It obtains prey by still-hunting from perches and scanning the ground below. An adult red-shouldered hawk will range from 17 to 24 inches tall.  From courtship to the start of incubation red-shouldered hawks scream a loud "kee-yar;" during the remainder of the year they are predominantly silent.

During the courtship display, one to four birds may soar together. They flap, swoop and descend while calling before diving to the original perch. They may rise in wide spirals 1,500 to 2,000 feet above the nest. The male and female build a nest together. It is usually placed in the crotch of the main trunk of a tree, 20-60 feet high. It is made of sticks and twigs, lined with strips of inner bark, fine twigs, dry leaves, evergreen sprigs, feathers and down. The clutch averages three eggs. Incubation lasts for 33 days and the young fledge in 39-45 days. First breeding usually occurs at two years of age.