Red-Tailed Hawk Wingspan
The Red-tailed Hawk is quite widespread in suitable areas, especially during autumn migration. The most common hawk in North America is the Red-tailed Hawk. The Red-tailed Hawk is highly suited to flying in the air.
The Red-tailed Hawk is one of the biggest birds in North America, and its modest body mass allows it to fly quite efficiently. Red-Tailed Hawks keep an eye on their prey from high perches and then swoop smoothly and quickly to catch them.
A Red-tailed Hawk is a bird of prey that soars on large, rounded wings, the pinnacle of easy flight because it draws a leisurely, ascending circle even without flapping. On average their wingspan ranges from 105 to 141 cm (3 ft 5 in to 4 ft 8 in).
| Wingspan | Centimeter | Inch/Feet |
| Red-Tailed Hawk | 105 to 141 cm | 3 ft 5 in to 4 ft 8 in |
The Red-Tailed Hawk, on the other hand, exhibits gender dimorphism, therefore females are significantly bigger and heavier than males. The biggest females can reach 147 cm in a wingspan (4 ft 10 in).
Juvenile Red-Tailed Hawk Wingspan
The young ones of Red-Tailed Hawks are known as juveniles. Juvenile red-tailed hawks do not acquire the red tail until they are two years old, and their tails are beautifully barred instead.
One of the ways to determine and distinguish between an adult Red-Tailed Hawk and a juvenile is through their wings.
While the young Red-tailed hawks are almost the same size as the adult ones, their feathers are often shorter, particularly on the wings.
Moreover, they have shorter wingspan than adults. The Juvenile Red-Tailed Hawks have a wingspan of about 51–61 cm (20–24 in) or 1.67 to 2 feet.
| Wingspan | Centimeter | Inch | Feet |
| Juvenile Red-Tailed Hawk | 51–61 cm | 20–24 in | 1.67 to 2 feet |
How Big Wingspan Can Red-Tailed Hawk Have?
Some of the Red-Tailed Hawks have much larger wingspans than the average wingspan size.
These Red-Tailed Hawks are of the largest length and size. The length, wingspan, and weight are highly dependent on the environmental factors and geographic location in which the birds live.
For instance, Red-Tailed Hawks which have greater access to resources or nutrients grow better. Similar to the height difference in humans, a part of the Red-Tailed Hawk’s size also depends on its genes.
The maximum wingspan of the Red-Tailed Hawk is up to about 140 to 141 cm or 53 inches.
Red-Tailed Hawk Wingspan Comparison To Human
Have you ever wondered how the size or wingspan we have discussed above could be used to look at bird species and human species side by side?
Humans are considered one of the most beneficial species, with some of the most advanced abilities. However, like birds, we cannot fly.
Bird species have the ability to fly through the air due to their wings, which are usually measured in terms of their wingspan.
While humans do not really have wingspans they do have something called an arm span. The arm span is the distance from the tip of the fingertip of one hand to the tip of the fingertip of the other hand.
The overall size or height of a Red-Tailed Hawk is about 45–65 cm (18–26 in) in length, while its wingspan ranges from 105 to 141 cm (3 ft 5 in to 4 ft 8 in) on average. However, the overall average height of humans is from 5.5 to 5.9 feet, and have an arm of about 5.5-5.9 feet.
Even the largest Red-Tailed Hawks have an overall height lesser than that of the lowest height of humans. Additionally, the arm span of humans is also greater than the wingspan of Red-Tailed Hawks.
Red-Shouldered Hawk Vs Red-Tailed Hawk Wingspan
While comparing two different species like birds and humans, we cannot really distinguish on the same parameters due to obvious reasons such as humans not having wingspan. However, we can compare two same species of birds on the basis of the same parameters.
The Red-shouldered Hawk is a huge hawk with striped black and white wings and tail, but it is not larger than the Red-Tailed Hawk.
Red-tailed Hawks are bigger than Red-shouldered Hawks, having wider wings and slower wingbeats. Moreover, Red-shouldered hawks are not only a bit smaller and lighter, but also are more delicately formed and seem more elongated.
The Red-Tailed Hawk as we know has a wingspan of around 105 to 141 cm (3 ft 5 in to 4 ft 8 in), whereas the Red Shouldered Hawk, has a wingspan of about 94-111 cm (37.0-43.7 in).
| Wingspan | Centimeter | Inch/Feet |
| Red-Tailed Hawk | 105 to 141 cm | 3 ft 5 in to 4 ft 8 in |
| Red-Shouldered Hawk | 94-111 cm | 3.0- 3.6 ft |
Red-Tailed Hawk Wingspan Compared To Cooper’s Hawk
The Cooper’s hawk is a medium-sized North American hawk. The Cooper’s Hawk is a crow-sized forest raptor that feeds on birds. It hunts mostly on birds and small animals, approaching its prey via deep cover and then pouncing with a quick, strong flight.
Similar to their overall size in terms of height, the Cooper’s Hawk also has a medium-sized wingspan ranging from 62-99 cm (2.0-3.2 ft), whereas the Red-Tailed Hawk has a large wingspan of about 105 to 141 cm (3 ft 5 in to 4 ft 8 in).
| Wingspan | Centimeter | Inch/Feet |
| Red-Tailed Hawk | 105 to 141 cm | 3 ft 5 in to 4 ft 8 in |
| Cooper’s Hawk | 62-99 cm | 2.0-3.2 ft |
The Red-Tailed Hawk is generally very large and has a longer wingspan than the Cooper’s Hawk. Even the largest size of the wingspan of a Cooper’s Hawk is smaller than the smallest wingspan of a Red-Tailed Hawk.
Red-Tailed Hawk Wingspan Compared To Bald Eagle
Another type of bird well known for its wings and flight is the Eagles. The bald eagle, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, is a North American bird of prey. Adult Bald Eagles have white heads and tails, as well as dark brown bodies and wings.
Eagle wings are often designed for soaring and gliding on warm air updrafts. As a result, they have long feathers that are slotted and may split to let air flow easily and prevent the eagles from stalling when flying at moderate speeds.
Although Bald Eagles have large wings they are super lightweight which makes them reach high speed during their flight mode. These massive birds have a wingspan of 180 to 234 cm (5.9-7.7 ft), which is much larger than the wingspan of the Red-Tailed Hawk.
| Wingspan | Centimeter | Inch/Feet |
| Red-Tailed Hawk | 105 to 141 cm | 3 ft 5 in to 4 ft 8 in |
| Bald Eagle | 180 to 234 cm | 5.9-7.7 ft |
Conclusion
That was everything you need to know about the size of the Red-Tailed Hawk. I hope this article was informative enough and you got something useful from it.
Thank you for reading!
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