Species BirdsRed-shouldered Hawk

Red-shouldered Hawk

Buteo lineatus

CommonBird
Illustration of Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus)
Safety note: Nesting pairs may dive at intruders near nest sites.

The Red-shouldered Hawk is a boldly barred hawk of moist, wooded bottomlands, with a rusty-orange barred breast and reddish shoulder patches. Its loud, repeated 'kee-aah' call carries through forests and is so commonly used in TV and film soundtracks that it is the generic 'hawk sound' most people recognize. It regularly associates with Great Horned Owls at nest sites, which it recycles between species.

Habitat
Moist deciduous forests, riparian woodlands, and wooded swamps
Diet
Snakes, frogs, crayfish, voles, and small birds
How common
Common

Recent Red-shouldered Hawk sightings near you

Live, research-grade observations from iNaturalist. Allow location to center the map on you.

Spot a Red-shouldered Hawk? Identify it instantly.

Point Huck at any plant or animal and get an instant ID, rarity, and field notes — building your personal nature collection as you go.

Get Huck — free

More birds

Acorn Woodpecker
Acorn Woodpecker
Melanerpes formicivorus
American Avocet
American Avocet
Recurvirostra americana
American Bittern
American Bittern
Botaurus lentiginosus
American Black Duck
American Black Duck
Anas rubripes
American Coot
American Coot
Fulica americana
American Crow
American Crow
Corvus brachyrhynchos
American Flamingo
American Flamingo
Phoenicopterus ruber
American Golden-Plover
American Golden-Plover
Pluvialis dominica