Photo by Lincoln Karim

Red-tailed Hawk, "Jamaica"

Buteo jamaicencis

Jamaica is an adult, female red-tailed hawk. She is quite large, even for a female, which is always larger than the male of this species. She weighs about three and a half pounds and has a four-foot wingspan. She has a buff-colored breast, with a "necklace" of brown streaks and the beautiful, rust-colored tail of an adult red-tailed hawk.

Although not as vocal as the smaller red-shouldered hawk, when she does vocalize, it is a high-pitched, descending scream: "keeeeer."

Her natural habitat would be open country of various kinds: farmlands, fields, parks and forest edges. Her large wingspan prevents her from maneuvering through densely wooded areas like the smaller hawks can.

A red-tailed hawk, which probably lives on the FSU campus, is frequently seen perched on top of tall buildings and trees in downtown Tallahassee and harassing squirrels in the parks on Park Avenue.

During the fall of 1990, Jamaica was shot in her left wing while soaring over farm land in Leon County. It is illegal to harm a bird of prey or any other migratory bird.

She was found by foresters who immediately took her to Northwood Animal Hospital. After examining the injured hawk, the doctor removed the bullet and also wrapped the wing, which had been badly broken in her fall.

The hawk was then taken to St. Francis Wildlife to rest and recuperate. She remained there for six weeks with several other injured hawks and owls while she regained her strength.

Unfortunately, when Jamaica's bandages were removed, the broken bones had fused together so that her wing was too stiff to fly.

Jamaica has been an important and beloved member of our Wild Classroom education program. This is a photo of her taken during a program for Maclay middle school children.