Red-tailed Hawk

Description:

As is the case with many raptors, the red-tailed hawk displays sexual dimorphism in size, as females are up to 25% larger than males.[4] As is typical in large raptors, frequently reported mean body mass for Red-tailed Hawks are somewhat higher than expansive research reveals.[5] Part of this is weight is highly seasonally variable and due to clinal variation, male red-tailed hawks may weigh from 690 to 1,300 g (1.52 to 2.87 lb) and in females between 900 and 2,000 g (2.0 and 4.4 lb). However, research from nine studies occurring at migration sites in the United States and two breeding studies, one from the smallest race in Puerto Rico, the other from larger races in Wisconsin show that males weigh a mean of 837 g (1.845 lb) and females weigh a mean of 1,040.7 g (2.294 lb), about 15% lighter than prior species-wide published weights.[5][6][7] The heaviest surveyed weights came from migrants in Cape May, New Jersey, where females weighed a mean of 1,278 g (2.818 lb), males a mean of 990.8 g (2.184 lb).[6] The lightest were from the breeding population in forest openings of Puerto Rico, where the females and males weighed an average of 1,023 g (2.255 lb) and 795 g (1.753 lb), respectively, also the highest size sexual dimorphism in the species. Size variation in body mass reveals that the red-tailed hawks typically varies only a modest amount, racial variation in average weights of great horned owls show that mean body mass is nearly twice (the heaviest race is about 36% heavier than the lightest known race on average) as variable as that of the hawk (where the heaviest race is only just over 18% heavier on average than the lightest).[6][7][8] Males can reportedly measure 45 to 60 cm (18 to 24 in) in total length, females measuring 48 to 65 cm (19 to 26 in) long. The wingspan can range from 105 to 141 cm (41 to 56 in) and, in the standard scientific method of measuring wing size, the wing chord is 325.1–444.5 mm (12.80–17.50 in) long. The tail measures 188 to 258.7 mm (7.40 to 10.19 in) in length.[9][10] The exposed culmen was reported to range from 21.7 to 30.2 mm (0.85 to 1.19 in) and the tarsus averaged 74.7–95.8 mm (2.94–3.77 in). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-tailed_...

Habitat:

Brevard Zoo