Red-shouldered Hawk

The Red-shouldered Hawk is a medium-sized forest raptor known for its distinctive reddish-brown shoulders, barred underparts, and soaring flight. They are vocal birds, often giving loud, clear kee-aah calls. Their plumage features intricate black-and-white checkering on the wings and striking reddish chest barring.

Striking pattern featuring pale greyish-blue to whitish background crossed by dark grey or brownish-black horizontal bars near the tip, transitioning into a warm tawny-brown or cinnamon-buff fluffy base typical of red-shouldered hawk underparts

Pennaceous at the distal tip with tightly interlocked barbicels, transitioning to plumulaceous (fluffy, downy) barbs at the proximal base without interlinking hooklets

Central rachis is thin, white, flexible, and curves slightly; barbs are fine, closely spaced, and angled outward from the central shaft with clear transitions in coloration from base to tip

Soft and silky at the base due to plumulaceous barbs, becoming smoother and firmer at the pennaceous tip

Breast or underpart contour feather, indicated by the broad rounded tip with distinctive barred pattern transitioning into a fluffy downy base

Distinctive horizontal dark barring on a pale greyish-white background at the tip, coupled with a fluffy cinnamon-brown basal down section

Deciduous and mixed deciduous-conifer swamp forests, riparian zones, flooded river bottoms, and mature upland woods, often near water

Resident across eastern North America, along the Pacific coast of California, and extending into parts of Mexico. Populations are generally non-migratory

Serves as an apex avian predator helping to regulate populations of small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and large insects in forest ecosystems

Broad-winged Hawk or Cooper's Hawk, though the specific pattern and warm tawny base distinguish adult Red-shouldered Hawk underpart feathers

Red-shouldered Hawks often reuse the same nest year after year, sometimes adding green sprigs of pine or leafy twigs to the structure. They frequently engage in dramatic aerial displays during courtship.

Like all native North American migratory birds of prey, their feathers carry deep cultural significance for Indigenous peoples while being strictly regulated today

Look near forest edges, streams, and beneath known raptor nesting trees or perches, especially during the late spring and summer molt season

Good condition with intact barbs and minimal wear, suggesting it was naturally molted recently during summer

Found on ground in UNCW long leaf pine forest, Wilmington, NC Aug 5, 2026.