Red-tailed Hawk, immature

Buteo jamaicensis

Red-tailed Hawk · Prospect Park · 1 March 2026

A young Red-tailed Hawk perched in the open in Prospect Park, which is where this species hunts: from a high, exposed vantage over open ground, by sight, rather than by surprise from cover. It is the commonest large hawk in North America and a permanent resident of the city's parks.

The streaked breast and finely barred, plain brown tail mark a bird in its first year. The brick-red tail that names the species doesn't come in until the first full moult, around a year old. The tail isn't showing its band clearly enough to rule out an immature Red-shouldered Hawk with full confidence, though the build and posture favour Red-tailed.