Some of these small animals may include snakes, lizards, mice, rabbits, squirrels, and any other type of small game that is found on the ground. However, most hawks are opportunistic feeders and they feed on anything they can catch. One wonders if members of the hawk family may be mimicking some members of the human family.Ī red-tailed hawk’s diet is very predictable, in that it includes a variety of small animals. Males and females also create their nests together, and will improve it together during mating season. Both the male and the female will watch the nest and take care of the eggs for about a month, until they hatch. In one year, a female hawk will lay about five eggs. Red-tailed hawks are monogamous and will keep the same mate their entire lives. The two birds will repeat this until finally the male latches onto the female and they begin to free-fall down to earth. Once the two get to a certain height, the male will dive toward the female and then they will rise back to the height again. The male and female will fly together up into the air in a circular motion. The method this bird uses to reproduce is different from that of most other birds. Red-tails also are known for their unusual mating practices. Hawks typically move at 20 to 40 miles per hour. When it flies, the hawk flaps its wings rapidly, and then uses that momentum to glide smoothly and gracefully through the air. The hawk’s main mode of transportation is flight. A hawk’s preferred time for hunting is usually just before night fall, when daylight begins to lessen.Įven though red-tailed hawks are known as being a violent predator, this bird actually has a peaceful side. They also use their talons dismember a kill before swallowing it. While other birds of prey like falcons use their mouths to kill their prey, red-tailed hawks both catch and kill prey with their claws, or talons. As the hawk grows older, it begins to act on its ancestral instinct to hunt for itself. It will leave its parents’ nest as early as six weeks old. A fledgling hawk is fed by its parents until it leaves the nest for good.

Hawks predators