This is an adult red shoulder hawk in Charleston SC, Dec 2024. They are pretty territorial “hooting and hollering” when another raptor is in their territory. They are pretty adapted to humans in the area and have swooped by us several times to pick up snakes, frogs, and insects.

Adult red shoulder hawks have a red rusty cinnamon color on their shoulders and chests and some of the underwings near the shoulders. Sometimes the head is grey, sometimes, brown. They have white checker board like markings on dark wings. Red Shoulder hawks are small hawks with largish wings and a relatively long tail for a small hawk. The tail has thick dark bands with thinner white bands.