---
title: "Red-tailed Hawk"
description: "Buteo jamaicensis — Birds. The red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is a bird of prey and one of the most common hawks in North America."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/red-tailed-hawk
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Red-tailed Hawk

> Buteo jamaicensis — Birds. The red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is a bird of prey and one of the most common hawks in North America.

- Scientific name: *Buteo jamaicensis*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `forest` (Forest), `grassland` (Fields & meadows), `urban` (Towns & gardens), `farm` (Farm), `desert` (Desert)
- iNaturalist observations: 359408
- Wikidata: [Q457471](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q457471)
- iNaturalist taxon: [5212](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/5212)

## Names

- en: Red-tailed Hawk
- de: Rotschwanzbussard
- es: Aguililla cola roja
- fr: Buse à queue rousse
- nl: Roodstaartbuizerd
- pt: Búteo-de-cauda-vermelha
- pl: Myszołów rdzawosterny

## Summary

The red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is a bird of prey and one of the most common hawks in North America. In the United States, it is one of three species colloquially known as the "chickenhawk". The red-tailed hawk breeds throughout most of the continent, from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. The red-tailed hawk occupies a wide range of habitats and altitudes, including deserts, grasslands, coniferous and deciduous forests, agricultural fields, and urban areas. It is absent in areas of unbroken forest and in the high arctic. It is legally protected in Canada, Mexico…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-tailed_hawk

## Photo

![Red-tailed Hawk](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/red-tailed-hawk/medium.jpg)

Photo: Reuven Martin · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/9083488

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/red-tailed-hawk?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).