Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawks are widespread and common across North America. On 8 October, I found this one on a telephone pole at the edge of Carleton College’s Upper Arboretum in Rice County. This hawk was relatively tame, despite my close approach. Red-tails spend most of their time perched—up to 96% of the time (Preston and Beane 2009). Then they often preen. This maintenance behavior involves repeated use of their oil (uropygial) gland, located on their rumps.