Red-tailed Hawk
Buteo jamaicensis
Red-tailed Hawk · San Diego · 6 March 2026
A Red-tailed Hawk riding a thermal over San Diego, the commonest large hawk in North America and at home in every habitat from desert to city, wherever there is open ground to hunt over and a high perch to hunt from.
The rust-red tail that names the species is a feature of adults only, and this bird's plumage and the fan of the tail are consistent with a fully mature bird soaring rather than hunting. It is the hawk behind most of the generic "hawk screech" heard in film and television - actually a Red-tail's call, dubbed over shots of eagles and other raptors whose real calls sound less dramatic.
Birds, insects, plants and other wildlife, mostly from Brooklyn, with some from further afield.
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