Youngsters
get to know the young hero and the adventures
that carry him toward manhood. As they come to know Jeremiah as a friend who would
understand their own growing pains, they look forward to each book in the
series.
Teachers
will Achieve..
Teachers will appreciate the ways
that Jeremiah Stokely novels, kits, and activities make literature
meaningful to children. Teachers can download free classroom idea
packets to hold a hand-on workshop based on each book.
Click the >Play button
to listen to the bird's song!
Red-Tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)
Length 19-25 in., wingspan 50 in., Family
Accipitridae
The Red-tailed is the most abundant hawk in North
America, from Alaska and Canada south to Panama.
These accipiters are brown, above and below, but the
wide, fan-shaped tails of all adults are rust-red. The juvenile lacks a
red tail. It takes three years for a young Red-tailed to develop adult
colors. The female is slightly larger than the male.
The red-tailed hawk’s cry is
a shrieking “keeer.” In courtship, the male and female soar in high
circles making shrill cries. They construct a large clumsy nest of sticks
in the top of a tall tree, up to 120 feet above the ground, and line it
with grass and other materials. They take turns sitting on two or three
whitish eggs for 28 to 35 days. The hatched young are fed by both parents
and usually leave the nest in 45 days. Red-tailed hawks sometimes recruit
other adult red-tails to help them care for their young.
The red-tailed hawk eats small mammals, especially rodents, and birds,
snakes, and large insects. It glides over open fields looking for prey.
Once the prey is spotted, the hawk dives and hovers. When ready, it folds
its wings, drops like a rock, and grabs the prey with its sharp talons.
This hawk may also watch for prey from a high perch.
Hawks can
turn their heads almost all the way around, which makes them very good
hunters. You’ve heard the expression “Watching like a hawk”?
