Young birds are duller, more streaked and lack rust-colored tail of the adult.
They are distinguished from Red-shouldered and Swainson s hawks by their white chest, stocky build, and broader, more rounded wings. Breeding takes place throughout North America, from Alaska east to Nova Scotia and southward. They winter in north to southern British Columbia and Maritime Provinces. The Red-tailed Hawk has extremely keen eyesight and can often be seen perching in a tree at the edge of a meadow, watching for the slightest movement in the grass below. Most hawks build bulky nests of twigs, bark, and leaves high in trees.