Red-tailed Hawk

The Red-tailed Hawk is a generalist—it thrives
in a variety of open and semi-open habitats
where it can prey upon a wide variety of
small animals. This adaptation has allowed
it and other generalist birds of prey, such as
the Great Horned Owl (p. 89), to adapt well
to human-altered environments, which tend
toward open, fragmented landscapes.
Conspicuous year-round, the Red-tailed Hawk is the most common and
widespread hawk in the greater Vancouver area. It is most frequently seen perched on
the exposed limbs of trees, on fence posts or on utility poles overlooking open fields.
During spring courtship, pairs of Red-tailed Hawks dive at each other, sometimes
locking talons and tumbling through the air together before breaking off at last
minute to avoid crashing into the ground.

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