1 00:00:01,840 --> 00:00:07,560 Speaker 1: Welcome to Brainstuff, a production of iHeartRadio. Hey, brain Stuff, 2 00:00:07,600 --> 00:00:13,240 Speaker 1: Lauren Boglebaum here, surely you've seen a majestic bald eagle 3 00:00:13,440 --> 00:00:16,960 Speaker 1: sweep across a television or movie screen while it makes 4 00:00:17,040 --> 00:00:22,880 Speaker 1: its familiar call, a harsh, keening scream. Super producer Tyler, 5 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:28,160 Speaker 1: can we get that bird call? If you've heard this, 6 00:00:28,440 --> 00:00:32,000 Speaker 1: it wasn't an eagle at all, but rather the piercing 7 00:00:32,200 --> 00:00:36,920 Speaker 1: shrill of a red tailed hawk. Because the smaller and 8 00:00:37,080 --> 00:00:40,320 Speaker 1: more prevalent redtailed hawk has a much mightier voice than 9 00:00:40,360 --> 00:00:44,680 Speaker 1: its larger cousin, the bald eagle. Hollywood regularly dubs over 10 00:00:44,720 --> 00:00:46,760 Speaker 1: the call of the bald eagle with that of the 11 00:00:46,800 --> 00:00:51,160 Speaker 1: red tailed hawk to toughen up the symbol of America. 12 00:00:51,280 --> 00:00:55,240 Speaker 1: The bald eagle actually boasts a little cackling type of call. 13 00:00:55,320 --> 00:00:58,120 Speaker 1: That's not very impressive. Do we have one of those 14 00:00:58,160 --> 00:01:03,840 Speaker 1: in the library? Yet another reason I agree with Ben 15 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: Franklin who thought the turkey would have been a better 16 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:12,319 Speaker 1: choice for National bird, But today we're talking hawks. There 17 00:01:12,360 --> 00:01:15,160 Speaker 1: are more than two hundred species around the world, and 18 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:18,120 Speaker 1: around twenty five that make their homes in the United States, 19 00:01:18,520 --> 00:01:21,480 Speaker 1: but the red tailed hawk is probably the most common 20 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:26,320 Speaker 1: species in North America. These big birds can be spotted 21 00:01:26,440 --> 00:01:30,520 Speaker 1: soaring above rural regions from coast to coast and perching 22 00:01:30,600 --> 00:01:35,240 Speaker 1: anywhere with scattered elevated seeding from which to watch open areas. 23 00:01:36,720 --> 00:01:40,280 Speaker 1: They were first taxonomically described in Jamaica, which is how 24 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:44,160 Speaker 1: the red tailed hawk got its species name, Beauteo jamakensis. 25 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:48,760 Speaker 1: They are also known as chickenhawks and buzzard hawks. Although 26 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:52,440 Speaker 1: they avoid tundra and thick forest, they are more adaptable 27 00:01:52,440 --> 00:01:56,080 Speaker 1: than any other hawk in the Beauteo genus. Their varied 28 00:01:56,120 --> 00:02:03,400 Speaker 1: habitats include scrub desert plains, grasslands, agricultural fields, pastures, parks, woodlands, 29 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:09,320 Speaker 1: tropical rainforests, suburbs, and cities. Red tailed hawks have red tails, 30 00:02:09,600 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 1: which might sound pretty obvious, but it actually takes an 31 00:02:13,120 --> 00:02:16,320 Speaker 1: entire year for the birds to develop their namesake tail. 32 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:20,880 Speaker 1: A chicks hatch with a sort of sleety gray colored fluff, 33 00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:25,480 Speaker 1: and juveniles develop increasingly dark, spotted, white, and brown coloration 34 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:29,239 Speaker 1: over the course of several months. About a year after 35 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:32,280 Speaker 1: they hatch, they'll molt their brown tail and grow their 36 00:02:32,320 --> 00:02:37,000 Speaker 1: mature copper to brick colored tail feathers. The male and 37 00:02:37,040 --> 00:02:41,800 Speaker 1: female birds don't have noticeably different coloration. All red tailed 38 00:02:41,800 --> 00:02:45,239 Speaker 1: hawks have yellow legs and feet, with long, sharp claws, 39 00:02:45,520 --> 00:02:47,920 Speaker 1: and a bit of yellow at their sear, which is 40 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:51,360 Speaker 1: the fleshy upper base of their short hooked beak, which 41 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:55,120 Speaker 1: is itself gray in color. Other than that, their exact 42 00:02:55,160 --> 00:02:58,799 Speaker 1: coloration can vary by region and subspecies, of which there 43 00:02:58,840 --> 00:03:03,360 Speaker 1: are about fifteen. Eastern birds have a brown head and back, 44 00:03:03,639 --> 00:03:06,400 Speaker 1: a white throat and chest, and a band of brown 45 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:11,240 Speaker 1: streaks that run lengthwise down the belly. Western birds tend 46 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:15,800 Speaker 1: to have streakier bellies. A Great Plains variety called Crider's 47 00:03:15,800 --> 00:03:19,000 Speaker 1: hawk is pale with a whitish colored head and washed 48 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:23,080 Speaker 1: out pink in the tail. South Texas forms are darker 49 00:03:23,120 --> 00:03:27,040 Speaker 1: above but without the dark belly band below. Dark morph 50 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:30,040 Speaker 1: birds can occur anywhere, but are more common in western 51 00:03:30,080 --> 00:03:34,400 Speaker 1: North America, particularly up in Alaska and northwest Canada, where 52 00:03:34,400 --> 00:03:38,840 Speaker 1: the all dark Harlan's hawk is common. These birds have 53 00:03:38,920 --> 00:03:41,920 Speaker 1: a stocky body with broad wings, and they often fan 54 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:45,840 Speaker 1: out their tail during flight. There is some variation in 55 00:03:45,920 --> 00:03:49,400 Speaker 1: size among red tailed hawks subspecies, with the largest birds 56 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:52,680 Speaker 1: occurring in the northern populations and the smallest in the south. 57 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:56,200 Speaker 1: They can grow to about twenty two inches in length 58 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:58,920 Speaker 1: from beak to tail, that's fifty five centimeters, with a 59 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:01,680 Speaker 1: wingspan of around fifty fifty two inches, that's one hundred 60 00:04:01,720 --> 00:04:04,920 Speaker 1: and thirty centimeters. That's almost four and a half feet. 61 00:04:05,080 --> 00:04:08,040 Speaker 1: That's a lot of bird. The female birds tend to 62 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:11,760 Speaker 1: be a bit bigger than the males. During ordinary flight, 63 00:04:11,960 --> 00:04:15,320 Speaker 1: red tailed hawks are a little slower than ducks or geese. 64 00:04:15,560 --> 00:04:18,760 Speaker 1: They fly around the normal speed of neighborhood traffic, maybe 65 00:04:18,800 --> 00:04:21,120 Speaker 1: up to like forty miles an hour or sixty five 66 00:04:21,200 --> 00:04:25,039 Speaker 1: kilometers an hour, but when they go into a dive, 67 00:04:25,360 --> 00:04:29,039 Speaker 1: they accelerate like a highly tuned race car. A red 68 00:04:29,080 --> 00:04:31,520 Speaker 1: tailed hawk can spot prey from a distance of some 69 00:04:31,720 --> 00:04:34,840 Speaker 1: hundred feet or thirty meters up, and can swoop down 70 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:37,359 Speaker 1: at speeds of over one hundred and twenty miles an 71 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:42,159 Speaker 1: hour or nearly two hundred kilometers an hour. For the article, 72 00:04:42,200 --> 00:04:44,520 Speaker 1: this episode is based on how Stuff Works, spoke via 73 00:04:44,600 --> 00:04:48,320 Speaker 1: email with Rick Schwartz, a global ambassador for California's San 74 00:04:48,360 --> 00:04:52,880 Speaker 1: Diego Zoo. He explained they can see colors like most 75 00:04:52,960 --> 00:04:56,440 Speaker 1: humans can, as well as those in the ultra violet range. 76 00:04:56,760 --> 00:05:00,080 Speaker 1: This means that hawks can perceive colors that humans cannot see. 77 00:05:00,960 --> 00:05:04,120 Speaker 1: Red tailed hawks are diurnal hunters, but see black and 78 00:05:04,120 --> 00:05:06,960 Speaker 1: white well enough to also hunt at dusk, the time 79 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:11,400 Speaker 1: when nocturnal animals, especially rodents, begin to awaken and move around. 80 00:05:12,279 --> 00:05:16,200 Speaker 1: These predators have a nictating membrane, a clear inner lid 81 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:18,839 Speaker 1: that cleans the eye and protects it while the hawk 82 00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:23,880 Speaker 1: is wrestling with its prey. Red tailed hawks will eat 83 00:05:23,960 --> 00:05:27,080 Speaker 1: carrion when times are tough, but they prefer live prey 84 00:05:27,279 --> 00:05:31,920 Speaker 1: and especially the aforementioned rodents like mice, voles, rabbits, and squirrels, 85 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:35,440 Speaker 1: with the occasional snake, lizard, and small bird thrown in 86 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:39,440 Speaker 1: for good measure. How stuffworks also spoke via email with 87 00:05:39,480 --> 00:05:42,720 Speaker 1: Scott Barnes, now the bird's programs director at the New 88 00:05:42,800 --> 00:05:47,920 Speaker 1: Jersey Audubond Society. He explained they hover hunt by flapping 89 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:51,039 Speaker 1: in place over potential prey and by swooping down to 90 00:05:51,080 --> 00:05:55,039 Speaker 1: grab a meal with their sharp talons. Or they perch hunt, 91 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:57,800 Speaker 1: which is exactly what it sounds a sitting on a perch, 92 00:05:58,000 --> 00:06:01,839 Speaker 1: sometimes a telephone pole and watching for prey. A Once 93 00:06:01,839 --> 00:06:04,440 Speaker 1: an item is spotted, the hawk drops off its perch 94 00:06:04,560 --> 00:06:09,440 Speaker 1: and tries to grab a meal. They are clever hunters. 95 00:06:09,800 --> 00:06:12,920 Speaker 1: Some birds have been observed faking out venomous snakes by 96 00:06:12,960 --> 00:06:16,680 Speaker 1: flaring their wings out, encouraging the snake to strike harmlessly 97 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:20,520 Speaker 1: at their feathers, then going in for the kill. On 98 00:06:20,560 --> 00:06:23,000 Speaker 1: the flip side of the food chain. Adult red tailed 99 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:26,480 Speaker 1: hawks can be preyed upon by larger raptors like eagles, 100 00:06:26,880 --> 00:06:30,680 Speaker 1: or sometimes by mammals like bobcats, but most predators find 101 00:06:30,720 --> 00:06:34,320 Speaker 1: them too big to want to mess with. However, the 102 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:39,160 Speaker 1: hawk's first year of life is perilous, Schwartz said. Great 103 00:06:39,240 --> 00:06:42,400 Speaker 1: horned owls and crows prey on red tailed hawk eggs 104 00:06:42,400 --> 00:06:46,479 Speaker 1: and nestlings. Owls compete with red tailed hawks for nest sites. 105 00:06:46,839 --> 00:06:49,160 Speaker 1: Both birds are known to kill the young and destroy 106 00:06:49,200 --> 00:06:51,520 Speaker 1: the eggs of the other in an attempt at taking 107 00:06:51,560 --> 00:06:55,679 Speaker 1: a nest site. If they make it through their youth, 108 00:06:55,920 --> 00:06:58,640 Speaker 1: red tailed hawks can live about twenty years in the wild. 109 00:06:59,120 --> 00:07:01,560 Speaker 1: The oldest known is thought to have been at least 110 00:07:01,560 --> 00:07:03,880 Speaker 1: thirty years old when it was found in twenty eleven 111 00:07:03,880 --> 00:07:06,359 Speaker 1: in Michigan, the same state where it had been banded 112 00:07:06,360 --> 00:07:10,320 Speaker 1: in nineteen eighty one. Some red tilled hawks haunt the 113 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: same areas year round, but others migrate with the seasons, 114 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:17,880 Speaker 1: seeking warmer weather and more abundant prey, they might go 115 00:07:17,960 --> 00:07:21,640 Speaker 1: alone or move with family groups. Red tails pair up 116 00:07:21,640 --> 00:07:24,920 Speaker 1: for life, and their aerial courtship is a daring air 117 00:07:25,000 --> 00:07:28,480 Speaker 1: show of flight bravado as the birds lock talons and 118 00:07:28,600 --> 00:07:34,120 Speaker 1: spiral downward together. Schwartz said the more migratory red tailed 119 00:07:34,160 --> 00:07:37,280 Speaker 1: hawks of the North have dramatic displays, while the more 120 00:07:37,320 --> 00:07:39,760 Speaker 1: sedentary birds of the South don't seem to work as 121 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:43,520 Speaker 1: hard to impress their mates. Although red tiled hawks mate 122 00:07:43,560 --> 00:07:46,280 Speaker 1: for life, it doesn't mean a surviving partner won't go 123 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:49,120 Speaker 1: on to mate again, even returning the next season to 124 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:53,160 Speaker 1: the breeding territory it knows best, and during the spring, 125 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:56,320 Speaker 1: which is breeding season, a pair will build a bulky 126 00:07:56,360 --> 00:07:59,400 Speaker 1: nest high above the ground. A female will lay two 127 00:07:59,400 --> 00:08:01,800 Speaker 1: to four eggs and incubate them for about a month. 128 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:05,360 Speaker 1: The male helps feed her during this time, and both 129 00:08:05,400 --> 00:08:08,440 Speaker 1: parents may feed the young when they hatch. The young 130 00:08:08,480 --> 00:08:10,200 Speaker 1: stay in the nest for another month and a half 131 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:12,840 Speaker 1: before starting to range out on their own, though they 132 00:08:12,840 --> 00:08:15,520 Speaker 1: may stay with their family for half a year, and 133 00:08:15,600 --> 00:08:17,600 Speaker 1: young birds don't tend to start a family of their 134 00:08:17,600 --> 00:08:22,160 Speaker 1: own until their second spring. Red tailed hawks are protected 135 00:08:22,240 --> 00:08:25,760 Speaker 1: under the US Migratory Bird Act, and because they're beneficial 136 00:08:25,800 --> 00:08:30,200 Speaker 1: for rodent and grasshopper control, they're considered wild friends to farmers. 137 00:08:31,160 --> 00:08:34,440 Speaker 1: It is illegal to mess with them or their nests. 138 00:08:34,559 --> 00:08:37,160 Speaker 1: Should you ever come across an injured hawk or other 139 00:08:37,200 --> 00:08:40,120 Speaker 1: bird of prey, get in touch with a locally licensed 140 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:44,080 Speaker 1: wildlife rehabilitator. They'll know what to do to help the 141 00:08:44,080 --> 00:08:49,520 Speaker 1: bird out and get it back where it belongs in nature. 142 00:08:51,679 --> 00:08:54,640 Speaker 1: Today's episode is based on the article redtail talks are 143 00:08:54,679 --> 00:08:57,680 Speaker 1: way bigger, faster, and more common than you realize on 144 00:08:57,720 --> 00:09:01,240 Speaker 1: HowStuffWorks dot Com, written by Wendy Bowman. Brain Stuff is 145 00:09:01,320 --> 00:09:04,400 Speaker 1: production of iHeartRadio in partnership with HowStuffWorks dot Com. It 146 00:09:04,440 --> 00:09:08,040 Speaker 1: is produced by Tyler Klang. Four more podcasts from iHeartRadio 147 00:09:08,400 --> 00:09:11,720 Speaker 1: visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen 148 00:09:11,760 --> 00:09:12,840 Speaker 1: to your favorite shows.