The red-tailed hawk is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members within the genus of Buteo in North America or worldwide. The red-tailed hawk is one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "chickenhawk", though it rarely preys on standard-sized chickens. The bird is sometimes also referred to as the red-tail for short, when the meaning is clear in context. Red-tailed hawks can acclimate to all the biomes within their range, occurring on the edges of non-ideal habitats such as dense forests and sandy deserts. The red-tailed hawk occupies a wide range of habitats and altitudes, including deserts, grasslands, coniferous and deciduous forests, agricultural fields, and urban areas. Its latitudinal limits fall around the tree line in the subarctic and it is absent from the high Arctic. Generally it favors varied habitats with open woodland, woodland edge and open terrain. It is legally protected in Canada, Mexico, and the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Source: Wikipedia
Citation:
(Gmelin, JF 1788)
Reference:
Systema Naturae ed. 13, vol. 1, part 1
Protonym:
Falco jamaicensis
Type locality:
Jamaica.
Link:
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/10285#page/278/mode/1up
Avibase ID:
CEFBC5F0CA0F50B7
Avibase ID:
avibase-CEFBC5F0
Short link:
https://avibase.ca/CEFBC5F0
Taxonomic Serial Number:
TSN: 175350
Geographic range:
Authorities recognizing this taxonomic concept:
American Ornithologists' Union 1st edition (1886): Red-tailed Hawk ( Buteo borealis) [version 1] |
American Ornithologists' Union 1st edition (incl. 1st suppl.): Red-tailed Hawk ( Buteo borealis) [version 1] |
American Ornithologists' Union 1st edition (incl. 2nd suppl.): Red-tailed Hawk ( Buteo borealis) [version 1] |
American Ornithologists' Union 4th edition (incl. 19th suppl.): Red-tailed Hawk ( Buteo jamaicensis) [version 1] |
American Ornithologists' Union 4th edition (incl. 20th suppl.): Red-tailed Hawk ( Buteo jamaicensis) [version 1] |
American Ornithologists' Union 4th edition (incl. 21st suppl.): Red-tailed Hawk ( Buteo jamaicensis) [version 1] |
American Ornithologists' Union 4th edition (incl. 22nd suppl.): Red-tailed Hawk ( Buteo jamaicensis) [version 1] |
American Ornithologists' Union 4th edition (incl. 23rd suppl.): Red-tailed Hawk ( Buteo jamaicensis) [version 1] |
American Ornithologists' Union 4th edition (incl. 24th suppl.): Red-tailed Hawk ( Buteo jamaicensis) [version 1] |
American Ornithologists' Union 4th edition (incl. 25th suppl.): Red-tailed Hawk ( Buteo jamaicensis) [version 1] |
American Ornithologists' Union 4th edition (incl. 26th suppl.): Red-tailed Hawk ( Buteo jamaicensis) [version 1] |
American Ornithologists' Union 4th edition (incl. 27th suppl.): Red-tailed Hawk ( Buteo jamaicensis) [version 1] |
American Ornithologists' Union 4th edition (incl. 28th suppl.): Red-tailed Hawk ( Buteo jamaicensis) [version 1] |
American Ornithologists' Union 4th edition (incl. 29th suppl.): Red-tailed Hawk ( Buteo jamaicensis) [version 1] |
American Ornithologists' Union 4th edition (incl. 30th suppl.): Red-tailed Hawk ( Buteo jamaicensis) [version 1] |
American Ornithologists' Union 4th edition (incl. 31st suppl.): Red-tailed Hawk ( Buteo jamaicensis) [version 1] |
American Ornithologists' Union 5th edition (1957): Red-tailed Hawk ( Buteo jamaicensis) [version 1] |
Avibase taxonomic concepts (current): Red-tailed Hawk [excl. harlani] ( Buteo jamaicensis [excl. harlani]) |
Avibase taxonomic concepts v. 2023 (May 2023): Red-tailed Hawk [excl. harlani] ( Buteo jamaicensis [excl. harlani]) |
Avibase taxonomic concepts v. 2024 (Oct 2024): Red-tailed Hawk [excl. harlani] ( Buteo jamaicensis [excl. harlani]) |
Avibase taxonomic concepts v. 01 (August 2013): Red-tailed Hawk [excl. harlani] ( Buteo jamaicensis [excl. harlani]) |
Avibase taxonomic concepts v. 02 (May 2014): Red-tailed Hawk [excl. harlani] ( Buteo jamaicensis [excl. harlani]) |
Avibase taxonomic concepts v. 03 (March 2015): Red-tailed Hawk [excl. harlani] ( Buteo jamaicensis [excl. harlani]) |
Avibase taxonomic concepts v. 04 (Aug 2016): Red-tailed Hawk [excl. harlani] ( Buteo jamaicensis [excl. harlani]) |
Avibase taxonomic concepts v. 05 (Jan 2017): Red-tailed Hawk [excl. harlani] ( Buteo jamaicensis [excl. harlani]) |
Avibase taxonomic concepts v. 06 (Feb 2018): Red-tailed Hawk [excl. harlani] ( Buteo jamaicensis [excl. harlani]) |
Avibase taxonomic concepts v. 07 (Feb 2020): Red-tailed Hawk [excl. harlani] ( Buteo jamaicensis [excl. harlani]) |
Avibase taxonomic concepts v. 08 (Feb 2021): Red-tailed Hawk [excl. harlani] ( Buteo jamaicensis [excl. harlani]) |
Peters' Check-list of the Birds (original): Buteo jamaicensis [version 3] |
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Other synonyms
See also the taxonomic synonyms table.
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