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Red-shouldered Hawk - Southern Florida
[Buteo lineatus extimus]
[Length 15 (Male) to 19 (Female) in. Wingspan 37 (M) to 42 (F) in.]
Red-shouldered Hawks are common breeding birds of wet forests and swamps throughout the eastern US and coastal California.
They get their name from their reddish shoulder patches.
Red-shouldered Hawks feed primarily on snakes and frogs, although they are opportunistic, and will also eat insects and small mammals.
They often hunt from a low perch, which allows them to quickly drop down onto their prey.
The Red-shouldered's call is an unmistakable loud "KEE-YEER" which often announces its presence long before it is seen.
This bird was photographed at the Audubon Society's Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary near Fort Meyers, Florida, USA.
Photo taken with a 300mm f4.5 Nikkor ED lens on Kodachrome 200 film pushed to 800.
(Date: January 1991)
(use image name "hawkrs" for inquiries)
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