{{Taxobox | name = Red-tailed Hawk | status = LC | status_system=iucn3.1 | status_ref=. It breeds throughout most of North America, from western Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies, and is one of the most common buteos in North America. Red-tailed Hawks can acclimate to all the biomes within its range. There are fourteen recognized subspecies, which vary in appearance and range. It is one of the largest members of the genus Buteo in North America, typically weighing from 690 to 1600 grams (1.5 to 3.5 pounds) and measuring 45–65 cm (18 to 26 in) in length, with a wingspan from 110 to 145 cm (43 to 57 in). The Red-tailed Hawk displays sexual dimorphism in size, with females averaging about 25% heavier than males .

The Harlan's Hawk (B. j. harlani), often considered a separate species, is treated below in the Taxonomy section.

The Red-tailed Hawk occupies a wide range of habitats and altitudes, including deserts, grasslands, coniferous and deciduous forests, tropical rainforests, agricultural fields and urban areas. It lives throughout the North American continent, except in areas of unbroken forest or the high arctic. It is legally protected in Canada, Mexico and the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

Because they are so common and easily trained as capable hunters, the majority of hawks captured for falconry in the United States are Red-tails. Falconers are permitted to take only passage hawks (which have left the nest, are on their own, but are less than a year old) so as to not affect the breeding population. Adults, which may be breeding or rearing chicks, may not be taken for falconry purposes and it is illegal to do so. Passage red-tailed hawks are also preferred by falconers because these younger birds have not yet developed adult behaviors, which can make training substantially more challenging.

The Red-tailed Hawk also has significance in Native American culture. Its feathers are considered sacred by some tribes, and are used in religious ceremonies.

Description

A male Red-Tailed Hawk may weigh from 690 to 1300 grams (1.5 to 2.9 pounds) and measure 45–56 cm (18 to 22 in), while a female can weigh between 900 and 2000 grams (2 and 4.4 pounds) and measure 48 to 65 cm (19 to 26 in) long; wingspan is about 114 to 133 cm (45 to 52 in). As is the case with many raptors the Red-tailed Hawk displays sexual dimorphism in size, as females are up to 25% larger than males. The cere, the legs, and the feet of the Red-tailed Hawk are all yellow.

Immature birds can be readily identified at close range by their yellowish irises. As the bird attains full maturity over the course of 3–4 years, the iris slowly darkens into a reddish-brown hue. In both the light and dark morphs, the tail of the immature Red-tailed Hawk are patterned with numerous darker bars.

There are at least 14 recognized subspecies of Buteo jamaicensis, which vary in range and in coloration:

B. j. jamaicensis, the nominate subspecies, occurs in the northern West Indies, including Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and the Lesser Antilles but not the Bahamas or Cuba. El Yunque National Forest, Puerto Rico holds the highest known density of Red-tailed Hawks anywhere.

B. j. alascensis breeds (probably resident) from southeastern coastal Alaska to the Queen Charlotte Islands and Vancouver Island in British Columbia.

B. j. costaricensis is resident from Nicaragua to Panama. This subspecies is dark brown above with cinnamon flanks, wing linings and sides, and some birds have rufous underparts. The chest is much less heavily streaked than in northern migrants (B. j. calurus) to Central America.

B. j. fuertesi breeds from northern Chihuahua to southern Texas. It winters in Arizona, New Mexico, and southern Louisiana.

Its preferred habitat is mixed forest and field, with high bluffs or trees that may be used as perch sites. It occupies a wide range of habitats and altitudes, including deserts, grasslands, mountains, foothills of mountains coniferous and deciduous woodlands, tropical rainforests, agricultural fields and urban areas. It is second only to the Peregrine Falcon in the use of diverse habitats in North America. It lives throughout the North American continent, except in areas of unbroken forest or the high Arctic.

The Red-tailed Hawk is widespread in North America,

Behavior

Flight

In flight, this hawk soars with wings in a slight dihedral, flapping as little as possible to conserve energy. Active flight is slow and deliberate, with deep wing beats. In wind, it occasionally hovers on beating wings and remains stationary above the ground.

Vocalization

The cry of the Red-tailed Hawk is a two to three second hoarse, rasping scream, described as kree-eee-ar, Young hawks may utter a wailing klee-uk food cry when parents leave the nest.

Diet

The Red-tailed Hawk is carnivorous, and an opportunistic feeder. Its diet is mainly small mammals, but it also includes birds and reptiles. Prey varies with regional and seasonal availability, but usually centers on rodents, comprising up to 85% of a hawk's diet. Additional prey (listed by descending likelihood of predation) include lagomorphs, shrews, bats, snakes, waterfowl, fish, crustaceans and insects. Prey range in size from beetles to White-tailed Jackrabbits, which are double the weight of most Red-tails. In captivity in winter, an average Red-tail will eat about 135 g (4-5 oz) daily. Other competitors include other large buteos such as Swainson's Hawks and Rough-legged Hawks as well as the Northern Goshawk, since prey and foraging methods of these species occasionally overlap. Hawks have been observed following American Badgers to capture prey they flush and the two are considered potential competitors. Competition over carcasses may occur with American Crows and several crows working together can displace a hawk. Larger raptors, such as eagles and Ferruginous Hawks, may steal hawk kills. The same nesting territory may be defended by the pair for years. During courtship, the male and female fly in wide circles while uttering shrill cries. The male performs aerial displays, diving steeply, and then climbing again. After repeating this display several times, he sometimes grasps her s briefly with his own. Courtship flights can last 10 minutes or more. Copulation often follows courtship flight sequences, although copulation frequently occurs in the absence of courtship flights.

In copulation, the female, when perched, tilts forward, allowing the male to land with his feet lodged on her horizontal back. The female twists and moves her tail feathers to one side, while the mounted male twists his cloacal opening around the female's cloaca. Copulation lasts 5 to 10 seconds and during pre-nesting courtship in late winter or early spring can occur numerous times each day.

In the same period, the pair constructs a stick nest in a large tree 4 to 21 m off the ground or on a cliff ledge 35 m (115 ft) or higher above the ground, or may nest on man-made structures. The nest is generally 71 to 97 cm (28 to 38 inches) in diameter and can be up to 90 cm (3 ft) tall. The nest is constructed of twigs, and lined with bark, pine needles, corn cobs, husks, stalks, aspen catkins, or other plant lining matter.

Great Horned Owls compete with the Red-tailed Hawk for nest sites. Each species has been known to kill the young and destroy the eggs of the other, but in general, both species nest in adjacent or confluent territories without conflict. Great Horned Owls are incapable of constructing nests and typically expropriate existing Red-tail nests. Great Horned Owls begin nesting behaviors much earlier than Red-tails, often as early as December. Red-tails are therefore adapted to constructing new nests when a previous year's nest has been overtaken by owls or otherwise lost. New nests are typically within a kilometer or less of the previous nest. Often, a new nest is only a few hundred meters or less from a previous one. Being a large predator, most predation of these hawks occurs with eggs and nestlings, which are taken by owls, corvids and raccoons.

A clutch of 1 to 3 eggs is laid in March or April, depending upon latitude. Clutch size depends almost exclusively on the availability of prey for the adults. Eggs are laid approximately every other day. The eggs are usually about 60 x 47 mm (2.4 x 1.9 in). They are incubated primarily by female, with the male substituting when the female leaves to hunt or merely stretch her wings. The male brings most food to the female while she incubates. After 28 to 35 days, the eggs hatch over 2 to 4 days; the nestlings are altricial at hatching. The female broods them while the male provides most of the food to the female and the young, which are known as eyasses (pronounced "EYE-ess-ess"). The female feeds the eyasses after tearing the food into small pieces. After 42 to 46 days, the eyasses begin to leave the nest on short flights. The fledging period lasts up to 10 weeks, during which the young learn to fly and hunt.

Use in falconry

The Red-tailed Hawk is a popular bird in falconry, particularly in the United States where the sport of falconry is tightly regulated at the federal and state levels. There are fewer than 5,000 falconers in the United States, therefore any effect on the Red-tailed Hawk population, estimated to be about one million in the United States, is statistically insignificant.

In the course of a hunt, a falconer using a Red-tailed Hawk most commonly releases the hawk and allows it to perch in a tree or other high vantage point. The falconer, who may be aided by a dog, then attempts to flush prey by stirring up ground cover. A well-trained Red-tailed Hawk will follow the falconer and dog, realizing that their activities produce opportunities to catch game. Once a raptor catches game, it does not bring it back to the falconer. Instead, the falconer must locate the bird and its captured prey, "make in," (carefully approach) and trade the bird its kill in exchange for a piece of offered meat.

Feathers and Native American use

The feathers and other parts of the Red-tailed Hawk are considered sacred to many American indigenous people and, like the feathers of the Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle, are sometimes used in religious ceremonies and found adorning the regalia of many Native Americans in the United States; these parts, most especially their distinctive tail feathers, are a popular item in the Native American community. As with the other two species, the feathers and parts of the Red-tailed Hawk are regulated by the eagle feather law, which governs the possession of feathers and parts of migratory birds.

== References ==

External links

Cornell University Ornithology Lab page about the Red-tailed Hawk, including samples of their cry

USGS web page about the Red-tailed Hawk

Red-Tailed Hawks Pictures

South Dakota Birds - Red-tailed Hawk Information and Photos

North American Falconers Association

Comparison of Adult & Immature tails

Discussion of Krider's and Harlan's forms and identification issues

Photo Field Guide on Flickr

Pale Male - the Central Park Red Tail Hawk

Category:Buteo Category:Falconry Category:Hawks Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-tailed Category:Sound effects Category:Birds of Guatemala

:This article deals with Kate Taylor, the folk singer and singer-songwriter. For other people of the same name, see Kate Taylor (disambiguation).

Kate Taylor (born August 15, 1949) is an American folk singer and singer-songwriter, originally from Boston, Massachusetts.

Biography

She grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where her father was Dean of the medical school at the University of North Carolina. Her mother, Trudy, had received training as a lyric soprano in Boston.

A member of one of the most famous musical families in America, Taylor and her four brothers, Alex, Livingston, Hugh and James, have all enjoyed some measure of success as performing and recording artists, starting in the late 1960s. Kate, Livingston and James are still recording and touring; Hugh owns an inn on Martha's Vineyard; Alex is deceased. James Taylor's career has been particularly successful.

Taylor formed her first band at age 15 and had her first record deal with Atlantic Records four years later—her debut album Sister Kate was released in 1971. Her second album, the 1978 self-titled Kate Taylor,was produced by her brother James and Lew Hahn on Columbia Records. It was well received, and produced another charting hit, "It's in His Kiss (The Shoop Shoop Song)", done as a duet with James. It peaked at 49 on the Billboard charts.

The following year Taylor released It's in There, produced by Barry Beckettat the famed Muscle Shoals studios. The label did not promote the album well and it did not achieve its expected success. After this release Taylor took a break from the music industry to raise her two young daughters, Elizabeth and Aquinnah. She continued to perform and contribute to various projects, including an appearance on the Mark Heard tribute album Orphans of God and as a back-up singer for various other artists. In 2003 she released Beautiful Road, a particularly personal album, dedicated to her manager and husband, Charlie Witham, who fell ill while she was recording the album and died shortly before its release. It received high praise, including 3 stars from Rolling Stone magazine, who called it "a heartfelt folk rock gem."

In 2003, Taylor resumed her touring career and now plays regularly in New York City, New England and the South. She was a featured performer at the 2008 Newport Folk Festival in Newport, RI.

In 2005, Taylor released her first live album, Kate Taylor Live at The Cutting Room, a recording of a live concert made the previous year.

In July 2009, Kate Taylor released her first album of all original songs, entitled "Fair Time!" and in September 2009 Kate and Film Truth productions released a documentary DVD called "Tunes from the Tipi and other songs from home," The film traces the Taylor family and Kate's musical history and journey from Chapel Hill to Martha's Vineyard.

Discography

Sister Kate (1971)

Kate Taylor (1978)

It's in There (1979)

Beautiful Road (2003)

Kate Taylor Live at The Cutting Room (2005)

Fair Time! (2009)

Participations on compilation albums

Strong Hand of Love, tribute to Mark Heard, 1994

Orphans of God, tribute to Mark Heard, 1994

Follow That Road, 1994

External links

Kate Taylor Official Web Site

Category:1949 births Category:Living people Category:American female singers Category:Songwriters from Massachusetts Category:People from Boston, Massachusetts

Barry Nolan (born June 17, 1947) is an American former presenter on Comcast Cable's CN8 channel, once hosting the shows Nitebeat and Backstage, and Backstage with Barry Nolan. He is a regular panelist on Says You!, a weekend radio word quiz show carried on many public radio stations but produced by Pipit and Finch.

Background and personal life

Nolan is from Alexandria, Virginia and went to college at the University of Tennessee. Nolan married Deborah Reed in 1981 and had three children: Christian, Delaney, and Alexander. He and Reed separated 1991 and divorced in 2002. He married Garland Waller in 2004 and now lives in Newton, Mass.

He was once a social worker and is a member of Mensa.

Career

Nolan hosted Boston's version of Evening Magazine for WBZ-TV (Channel 4). He was also the host of Hard Copy from 1990 to 1998. Nolan later became a journalist for Extra!.

Barry Nolan was fired by CN8 on 20 May 2008 for distributing fliers at an Emmy award show dinner on 10 May. Nolan was protesting the award of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Governors' Award to political commentator Bill O'Reilly, and distributed a self-prepared flier with quotes from O'Reilly's shows, and with quotes from a sexual harassment lawsuit against O'Reilly. Soon afterwards, O'Reilly wrote to Comcast's CEO mentioning the mutual business interests between Comcast and Fox, and saying "...it was puzzling to see a Comcast employee, Barry Nolan, use Comcast corporate assets to attack me and FNC." He said that Nolan had attended the Emmy Awards "in conjunction with Comcast," and declared it "a disturbing situation." In response to a question raised as part of that suit, Comcast wrote that "… Mr. Nolan’s protest at the NATAS Award Ceremony and of William O’Reilly as the recipient of the Governor’s Award jeopardized and harmed the business and economic interests of Comcast in connection with its contract with Fox News Channel, and its contract negotiations with Fox News that were ongoing at the time."

After his firing, Nolan "landed a communications job with the Joint Economic Committee of Congress".

References

Category:American radio personalities Category:American television personalities Category:Living people Category:People from Alexandria, Virginia Category:People from Boston, Massachusetts Category:1947 births