Talk:Red-tailed hawk

Recording

A certain recording of the cry of the Red-tailed Hawk is probably one the most often heard cinematic sound cliché. This high fierce scream is often featured in the background of adventure movies to give a sense of wilderness to the scene.

Question - Is there a list of Films with this sound? - Like the List_of_films_using_the_Wilhelm_scream

I fixed a mechanical error in this section (misuse of comma)68.82.51.210 19:38, 29 April 2006 (UTC)

Buteo

I put Buteo in the first line. Neither buzzard nor hawk are satisfactory because of their different meanings in American and British usage.

jimfbleak 07:42, 13 August 2006 (UTC)

Buteo is not a useful term for the average Joe looking at this page, though. Hawk is an appropriate term for all. 65.94.107.29

The purpose of an encyclopedia is to educate, mind. Would it really hurt an Average Joe, Simon or Frank to learn that a Red-tail is actually a Buteo and what a Buteo is? Sabine's Sunbird talk 19:23, 1 April 2007 (UTC)

If you read a few words into the text, you will see the bird's scientific name. The line as it was is as absurd as saying "The Bald Eagle is a large Haliaeetus." It tells the average reader absolutely nothing about the bird. You could change it to "...large hawk of the genus Buteo," but that is already stated when the scientific name is given in the SAME SENTENCE.142.150.48.211

There is no need to shout. And how is having hawk any different from Buteo in the way you mention? Jim' solution works for me. Sabine's Sunbird talk 19:23, 2 April 2007 (UTC)

I agree about the shouting, but I like the "bird of prey" edit. The binary name provides access to specific information, while the generic link, and the term itself, is an improvment for may readers, I think.--Hjal 04:26, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

They're called capital letters. It's not shouting. Holeinthetoad 17:19, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

Abundance?

What makes the red-tail the most common raptor in North America? I would guess Sharp-shinned. Does anyone have a reference for this? If not, it shall be changed. 65.94.107.29

Your own guess is good enough for your proposed sharpie edit, but you otherwise require a citation? Classy.

Look, fool. I didn't make any "proposed sharpie edit." I merely took out the claim that the RTHA is the most common raptor, because there is no citation to back the claim up. My "own guess" about the Sharp-shinned was simply that: my own guess. I didn't make any edits based on this. Classy? Who are you? 67.70.99.45 17:20, 16 May 2007 (UTC)

I'm not sure that it is the most common raptor in North America but I am pretty damn sure. Certainly it is by far more populous than the Sharp-Shinned Hawk. You can check with Audubon or anybody really about that, there is not even any comparison in population between those two species. I am curious what part of the continent you are from that you would have the impression?

Do you have any sort of reference to back up your claim? As any biologist will tell you, smaller species tend to be more abundant than larger species. It's all about biomass. That's why I figured the SSHA would be more abundant than the RTHA. So yes, it is valid to compare the population size of these two species; it is not likely that the RTHA dwarfs the SSHA in population size as you claim. So I followed your advice and checked with "anybody really about that." I had a look at the count data produced by Hawkwatch International, which I imagine is a reputable authority. Go have a look. At how many locations times do they count more RTHA than SSHA? Not many. What about the reverse? A lot. It doesn't seem unreasonable, then, to hypothesize that the SSHA is more abundant than the RTHA. Got any sort of data to dispute this? Try signing your posts. 128.100.181.59 15:59, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

The article says that the RTH is "one of the most common" buteos in North America. I believe that it was changed back in May, when the issue originally came up. Since the statement is no longer in the article, there isn't any need to argue about it, although if anyone happens to have a reference which specifically says whether the RTH is the most abundant, or second most abundant, or whatever rank it actually occupies, it would be a good addition to the article. Otherwise, it'll say that it is "one of the most common buteos", and that's fine. Cheers, Jude. 18:56, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

WHAT SIZE PREY CAN A HAWK TAKE?

I live just outside of Atlanta, and I believe we have red-tail hawks here. I keep seeing three hawks circling my property when my three dogs are out in the field. The dogs are smallish... between 14 and 25lbs. Is it possible that the hawks are considering my dogs as prey?? It seems unlikely to me, but this has happened several times.

Why do hawks look so mad?

Hawks and other birds of prey look soo cool, someone should tell them they make us feel patriotic because they're so cool. I feel sorry for field mice, cause those hawks have hawk eyes which see far and aren't happy.

Brookie deleted comments from this topic. Classy. [1] —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 68.123.47.73 (talk) 23:57, 16 April 2007 (UTC).

What I actually removed was silly vandalism. Brookie :) - a will o' the wisp ! ^(Whisper...) 15:14, 17 April 2007 (UTC)

No, vandalism is pageblanking or changing someone else's statement on a talkpage. What you removed was a contribution th o the discussion that 72.187.254.238 started (later vandalized by 67.183.188.92). By your standard, you should have removed the whole thread, not just the comment that you personally judged drivelous. 68.121.151.39 03:01, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

You better see [2] to learn what's vandalism, baby. Posting a comment to a talkpage is NOT IT. 68.121.151.39 03:04, 18 April 2007 (UTC)

I am not an expert or an avid observer, but to day I witnessed at least 30 or more red tail hawks gather as turkey vultures would.They came in from all directions including from diving obove. It was amazing! I live in a small town north of Barie Ontario and the weather was calm but hot.There were witnesses that can verify the gathering.Has anyone ever seen this type of activity?please e back THNX ED>>> —Preceding unsigned comment added by 64.228.2.51 (talk) 02:32, 21 September 2007 (UTC)

They are no threat to your dogs.

As a Falconer, I have flown 3 RedTails. 2 of them where large females, but even then the largest was only 1800 grams. My conversion abilities arent that great, but that ammounts to roughly 4 lbs. Not only are they no threat to your dogs, they have trouble carrying a live squirrle, much less a 15lb dog.

As for why they look mean, my own un-scientific opinion is the shape of thier head infront of thier eyes. The rely on eyesight to catch prey, so thier face has evolved to give a very un-obstructed view. It also looks intimidating. I'd also add that they look mean because they are mean. Even my favorite bird "Jack" would bite and "foot" as often as not. Like my Falconry mentor once told me "No matter how long you have had him, no matter how tame he seems, if he could hold you down and eat you he would".

PEACE —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Kelenskiovich (talk • contribs) 03:27, 5 December 2006 (UTC).

Mascot?

Is the list of colleges that the Red-tailed hawk is a mascot of necessary to the article, or can I remove it? Jude 20:03, 14 June 2007 (UTC)

• I would prefer to leave it. I watch this page because the mascot for my former high school is the RTH (substituting for "Indians" after 1990). In fact, I just borrowed a picture from the gallery a few days ago to use on the high school page. It's better to have a well-maintained list in an appropriate section than to have school kids or old grads adding mascot information willy nilly. If the list ever gets too long, it could be moved to a separate page.--Hjal 03:17, 15 June 2007 (UTC)

It's inappropriate and trivial for the article on the species. My school's mascot was the raven, but that doesn't mean it deserves to be mentioned on Common Raven (it doesn't even rate a mention on the school's page). That the Red-tail is used as a mascot in some highschools is maybe worth mentioning; an incomplete list of teh ones that do isn't. Sabine's Sunbird talk 03:41, 15 June 2007 (UTC)

Note that I did not add my high school. It is not trivial that a species is selected as a mascot--although many species are chosen, many more are not. It says something meaningful about the way hawks are viewed in American culture (and, pehaps, in others) that they are chosen as mascots, while swallows, mergansers, and great blue herons are not. It's also interesting that RTH is used as a mascot, rather than "Chickenhawks" or just the more common "Hawks," while Sharp-shinned hawk is not (I bet). And why ask for a discussion and then cut it off so fast? I'll add the information back as linked text after looking for some more examples.--Hjal 17:26, 15 June 2007 (UTC)

I never said you added your school. And like I said, that some schools pick RTHs as their mascot my just be untrivial enough to mention, which specifc schools do so is beyond trivial. It doesn't tell you anything important that it is the mascot of XYZ High and NMB High and JJK College. Mention it at the school pages, not here. Sabine's Sunbird talk 22:14, 15 June 2007 (UTC)

Hawks eat catfish?

The listed reference does not mention anything about hawks eating catfish. Catfish are benthic. Hawks are not divers.

I've added two reference that discuss hawks eating catfish. The The Audubon Society Encyclopedia of North American Birds says that it will eat "catfish and carp caught at edge of water". You're absolutely right, though, that a Red-tailed Hawk wouldn't(and couldn't) dive to capture one from the bottom of a pond. --Jude 13:57, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

this is actually a quite common technique for several raptors, especially if the fish are injured or otherwise vulnerable. I think Bald Eagle, White-tailed Eagle and Black Kite will all do this. Jimfbleak 14:31, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

• I don't know about other hawks, but the Red-tailed Hawks of Cape Cod Massachusetts are most definitely "divers"; I've seen them do it. It was at the Sea Street Beach in Hyannis. A hawk flew out of the nearby watershed area, circled above the beach once, and then dove straight down into the water - and came up and flew away with what appeared to be a sunfish! It was near dusk, and one of the most amazing things I've ever seen in my life. I was completely submerged for about a full second, and seemed to struggle a bit getting itself up and out of the water. I thought it was going to come down and attack one of the nearby seagulls swimming just beyond the surf, but it dove into an open area of water about 20 feet from shore and came up with a fish. It immediately flew back into the watershed.

  How deep can they dive? I have no idea. But the hawk I saw definitely did dive. Mespinola 14:34, 4 October 2007 (UTC)

English?

Why is the ref section littered with English? I can see the point of flagging up (unbolded) a non-English source, but I expect en-wiki refs to be in en unless otherwise stated. Jimfbleak 06:45, 28 June 2007 (UTC)

Photograph - Not a Red-tailed Hawk

The image labeled "Immature hawk, with barring on tail" is an accipiter and not a Red-tailed Hawk. Bcacace 20:48, 8 August 2007 (UTC)

I removed the image.--Jude. 21:07, 8 August 2007 (UTC)

GA Review

I have reviewed this article according to the Good Article criteria and have passed the article. It is very comprehensive, well-written, stable, and well sourced. Good job to the contributors who have made this such a nice article. The only nitpick that I'd mention is that the lead section is a bit too lengthy; three paragraphs would be ideal and trim out some of the information that is a verbatim cut-and-paste from the main body. In my experience, as soon as you do trim it down, someone else will come along and claim that the lead is too short, so take the advice with a grain of salt. Good job! Neil916 (Talk) 06:13, 9 August 2007 (UTC)

GA Sweeps (Pass)

This article has been reviewed as part of Wikipedia:WikiProject Good articles/Project quality task force. I believe the article currently meets the criteria and should remain listed as a Good article. The article history has been updated to reflect this review. Regards, Corvus coronoides _talk 00:13, 18 October 2007 (UTC)