Red-shouldered Hawk

Buteo lineatus

Year-round in CharlotteCommon

The take

The neighborhood hawk of Charlotte's creek woods — you'll hear the kee-rah before you see it.

How to ID it

  • Medium-sized hawk with broad rounded wings held slightly forward in a distinctive reaching posture
  • Dark-and-white checkered wings, warm reddish barring on the breast, and a black tail with narrow white bands
  • Soars over forests giving a rising whistled kee-rah, and shows pale crescents near the wingtips in flight

Field marks at a glance

Size
large
Head
warm brown
Call
rising whistled kee-rah, often repeated

Where & when

Year-round in Charlotte

Learn more

Sources