red-tailed hawk

American  

[red-teyld] / ˈrɛdˌteɪld /

noun

1. a North American hawk, Buteo jamaicensis, dark brown above, whitish with black streaking below, and having a reddish-brown tail.

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Etymology

Origin of red-tailed hawk

An Americanism dating back to 1795–1805

Example Sentences

In fact, any birder will tell you that the sky-rending screech that accompanies bald eagles in most media depictions actually belongs to a red-tailed hawk.

From Slate • Feb. 21, 2026

For every red-tailed hawk, there are nearly two lizards.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 25, 2025

If you saw a red-tailed hawk injured after colliding with an office window, or a bobcat hit by a car, what would you do?

From Seattle Times • Apr. 18, 2024

Alan can tell a red-tailed hawk from a sharp-shinned one, having been dragged as a child every spring to the southern shore of Lake Ontario to watch raptors migrate north.

From New York Times • Jun. 21, 2023

The girls chuckled at the stuffed wolverine’s frozen smile, the red-tailed hawk caught mid-dive, and the lumbering black bear that charged the window.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead