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Hawks might be fairly powerful to appropriately establish. Most widespread hawk species don’t have loads of apparent visible variations to tell apart between them. Purple-shouldered hawks are sometimes confused with red-tailed hawks and broad-winged hawks. Right here’s how one can be able to establish a red-shouldered hawk the following time one soars overhead.
What Does a Purple-Shouldered Hawk Look Like?
A noticeable function of red-shouldered hawks is their reddish or rufous underbellies. Compared, the extra widespread red-tailed hawk has a white underbelly. One other technique to inform is by trying on the visually putting tail. It has white and black bands or stripes. This hen will get its identify from the rusty crimson plumage on its higher wing aka “shoulder.”
Female and male red-shouldered hawks look practically similar however on common, the females are usually bigger than the males. This medium-sized species has a median wingspan of 37 to 42 inches. Juveniles look just like adults however they’ve narrower tail bands and their higher wings aren’t as crimson.
ID problem: Cooper’s hawk vs sharp-shinned hawk.
Habitat and Vary
Among the finest methods to begin determining if you happen to’ve seen a red-shouldered hawk is to know their vary. Purple-shouldered hawks are discovered all through the East, the higher Midwest and the South. There’s additionally a subspecies that lives alongside the West Coast, primarily in California.
Purple-shouldered hawks reside and construct their nests in deciduous and blended woodlands however not essentially deep forest. They like to stay close to water sources, like river banks, lakes and swamps. When you reside in a suburb with a wooded space close to water, there could also be a red-shouldered hawk residing close by. Purple-shouldered hawks residing within the Northeast and northern Midwest migrate south in winter.
Try these important hawk identification ideas for birders.
Name and Sounds
Purple-shouldered hawks are one of many noisiest hawk species round, so studying their name is a good way to establish them. Their loud, shrill Kee-aah name is repeated and has an inflection that rises then falls. To match, the red-tailed hawk’s name sounds extra hoarse and piercing. (Blue jays are significantly good at imitating red-shouldered hawks. Their mimicry helps the jays scare away different birds competing for meals in addition to predators.)
Do hawk sightings have particular which means?
What Do Purple-Shouldered Hawks Eat?
These carnivores wait and watch from perches, then swoop in to strike on the proper alternative. They hunt water-loving animals like frogs, crayfish and small fish, in addition to small woodland animals like snakes, mice, voles and rabbits. Purple-shouldered hawks are opportunistic feeders and have even been recognized to feed on carrion if different choices aren’t obtainable.
Don’t miss these merely gorgeous photos of hawks.
Nests and Eggs
Mating season for red-shouldered hawks occurs through the first six months of the 12 months, significantly in March and April. As a part of spring courtship, a male red-shouldered hawk will do dramatic, spiraling dives from excessive within the air, known as a “sky dance.”
Each the female and male red-shouldered hawk assist construct the nest or, if they will, reuse the identical nest from the earlier 12 months. Their cup-shaped stick nests are roughly two toes in diameter and constructed about 20 to 60 toes off the bottom in the primary fork of a tree trunk. Purple-shouldered hawks solely have one brood per season and often lay two to 5 eggs.
Subsequent, discover ways to establish a Harris’s hawk.
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