I agree with BN. You indeed have a first-year Red-tailed Hawk. If you have a field guide, take a look at this bird's tail pattern and compare with Cooper's/Sharp-shinned. You'll notice it's a shorter, fatter tail with narrower banding than with Cooper's/Sharp-shinned. Also, compare this bird's tail with an adult Red-tailed Hawk's tail (which is a rusty red color) and you'll see how we can distinguish a juvenile from an adult. They gain their red tails during their first molts (when they are one year old). This bird should be molting soon, as it hatched last year.

I just wanted to tell you I liked the flying shot so much I set it up as the background on my computer. I travel a lot for work and I've had a bunch of people ask me about it since I've done it. Very nice shot.

Thanks! So when do their tails get the reddish plumage? This one had brown striped tail feathers, I thought that the adults had red tails but I know very little about red tailed hawks so I thought I would ask, thanks! Oh, also, what's that whistling noise that it is making? There is a redtailed hawk couple that lives in my area, I used To see them Together all the time, now they seem to be hanging out solo mostly, I wondered if this one might be one of their "kids" from this year or year before, this one's plumage looks a lot darker than the male and female I usually see in the area.

I thought it was a red tailed hawk, too the moment I saw the picture. See them all the time in Texas. But this one is missing the red on the end of his tailfeathers! Or does that not come in until maturity?