Red-tailed Hawk (juvenile)

Description:

Red-tailed Hawks are large hawks with typical Buteo proportions: very broad, rounded wings and a short, wide tail. Most Red-tailed Hawks are rich brown above and pale below, with a streaked belly and, on the wing underside, a dark bar between shoulder and wrist. The tail is usually pale below and cinnamon-red above, though in young birds it’s brown and banded. Immature birds are duller, more streaked, and light brown tail with some dark barring. Juvenile ID marks - look for the belly band, its a great indicator that you have a red-tailed. I also look typically for the mottling on the back and white scapular V.

Habitat:

Upper Texas Coast (UTC) 108 BRAZORIA NWR: Brazoria is a vital complex of coastal wetlands and prairie harboring more than 300 bird species. The refuge serves as an end point of the Central Flyway for waterfowl in winter, and an entry point for neotropical migratory songbirds tired from a 600-mile Gulf crossing from Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula.

Notes:

There appears to be a band on this ones leg. It was in a tree at the visitors center.