I know I annoy my family whenever we watch a movie and a bald eagle comes onto the screen, and it lets loose with a scream.

They know I cannot stop myself from mumbling, “That ain’t no bald eagle call!” (I know that’s horrible grammar, but that’s how I talk when watching westerns!)

I was fooled by Hollywood, too, that is until I started working at the center. I quickly learned that the call was really the call of the red-tailed hawk. This hoarse screech lasts for two to four seconds and makes me think of wild places when I hear it. This bird sounds like it means business!

Years ago, I read a story written by Marie Winn called “Red Tails in Love.” The anthropomorphism of these birds can be a little hard to take at times, but it’s an amazing tale. The hero of this story is Pale Male and how he makes himself at home on top of a high-rise apartment building in New York City.

Named by his many fans because of his unusual coloring, this bird not only endured challenges in this urban environment, but he also thrived.

Red-tailed hawks weigh between 2 and 4 pounds and can vary in plumage.

Red-tails (as some people like to refer to them) belong to a group of birds called buteos. All buteos have in common their wide wings built for soaring, fan-shaped tails, and stocky bodies. Young hawks have very light-colored eyes and do not have the signature cinnamon-colored tail of the adults. Around their second year they gain the signature red tail feathers, and their eyes start to deepen to a beautiful brown. These changes signal to all the others that they have made it to adulthood.

Their breeding ranges extend from Alaska through Canada, the entire United States, and into Central America.

In winter, many of the northern birds move south; however, a mated pair may overwinter if they can find enough food rather than risk migrating and leaving their territory. Red-tailed hawks typically do not begin breeding until their third year.

In order to convince the females that they would be suitable mates, some of the courtship behaviors include catching prey and passing it to the females in midair, or they will perform repeated dives together. Sometimes, they lock talons and take spiraling dives toward the ground.

Mated red tails are excellent parents sharing all duties almost equally. They build the nests together using large sticks and branches usually building these nests in trees but like Pale Male they also will build their nests on structures. They also share incubating duties, although this time is not shared evenly between them.

Once the young hatch, the males do most of the hunting, and bring home prey for the females and offspring. The young will stay close to the nest site and learn to hunt by watching the parents.

Red-tailed hawks feed on a wide variety of prey. Mammals commonly make up a large part of their diet and include everything from small mice to rabbits and hares. They will also take medium-sized birds and reptiles such as lizards and snakes.

With keen, sharp eyesight that’s estimated to be eight times better than humans’ they can spy a mouse on the ground from 100 feet in the air. It is believed that they can distinguish between the greens of vegetation and the brown coats of their prey.

They are the most common hawk in North America and yet they can be difficult to identify. The best advice I ever read was that if a very large bird is soaring overhead and not rocking back and forth on the air currents, it’s a “red-tail.”

Turkey vultures and Black vultures will rock back and forth on the wind currents because their wings are held in a slight “V” formation. Red-tail hawks’ wings are held perfectly straight, and they soar. They often hunt along highways, circling overhead or hovering in place as they scan the ground for prey.

So, look up! What’s that bird?

Jeannie Carl is a naturalist at the Carbon County Environmental Education Center in Summit Hill. The center rehabilitates injured animals and educates the public on a variety of wildlife found in the area. For information on the Carbon County Environmental Center, visit www.carboneec.org.