Sharp, insistent cries signal the presence of one of North America’s most beautiful birds of prey: the Red-shouldered Hawk. There’s no mistaking this striking hawk for any other; the front of its body glows bright chestnut, the back boldly spangled black and white, the shoulders, that same blazing chestnut. Roughly crow-sized, Red-shouldered Hawks are found throughout the eastern U.S., retreating from the north in winter. Distinctive populations inhabit Florida and California west of the Sierra Nevada.

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