How Long Do Red-Tailed Hawks Live? (Red-tailed Hawk Lifespan)

The red-tailed hawk is one of the most widespread raptors in North America, with a range in Alaska and northern Canada, throughout the United States into Mexico, and south into Central America.

Their habitats range from extremely harsh conditions with sparse landscapes to temperate climates with more adequate shelter and readily available food sources. Below, we look at the lifespan of red-tailed hawks and how these environmental factors affect their lifespan.

In the wild, free-ranging red-tailed hawks can be expected to live 10-15 years or more. However, in captivity, the life expectancy of these opportunistic raptors, often called hawks, can be much longer.

While in some cases red-tailed hawks can live twenty years or more, many do not even reach maturity. Studies show that as many as 36 percent of red-tailed cats don’t survive their first year.

Read on to learn more about the typical lifespan of a red-tailed hawk and learn why some die young while others live much longer.

Red-tailed hawks live an average of 10 to 15 years in the wild

What is the typical lifespan of a red-tailed hawk?

Whether a red-tailed hawk lives in captivity or in its natural habitat has a major impact on its life expectancy. Factors such as protection from predators, a moderate diet, and lack of exposure to some of the more common hazards that can lead to premature death all help prolong the lifespan of captive eagles.

How long can a red-tailed hawk live in the wild?

In the wild, free-ranging red-tailed hawks typically live about 10 to 15 years. However, some people have been known to live twice that. A wild red-tailed hawk, first restrained in 1991 and rediscovered in Michigan in 2011, was 20 years and 8 months old. Banding plans show that other older redtails can live into their 20s.

Red-tailed hawk enters forest to land

How long do red-tailed hawks live in captivity?

In captivity, individual red-tailed hawks have repeatedly been documented living over 20 years. With safe housing, a regular supply of food, and many hazards not encountered by their free-ranging counterparts, the life expectancy of captive eagles naturally increases.

How Do Most Red-tailed Hawks Die?

Red-tailed hawks die prematurely in a number of ways, including human intervention, accidental death such as being entangled in cables or electrocuted or falling from their nest, and poisoning from eating prey such as rodents that ingest harmful substances that release toxins through human pest control .

A large number of young red-tailed hawks fail to learn to navigate the world their own way by the end of their first year due to inexperience. In urban areas, although the species is protected in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, deaths often include vehicle collisions, flying into man-made structures, and being deliberately shot or trapped by humans.

A red tailed hawk perched on a pole

What is the life cycle of a red-tailed hawk?

• Male and female red-tailed hawks take turns incubating the eggs for 28 days.
• Eyasses are born blind and covered in white down.
• After hatching, young red-tailed hawks are cared for and fed by both parents and remain in the nest for 42-46 days after hatching.
• After leaving the nest, young birds remain near their parents’ territory for about 10 weeks.
• After six months, they have mastered the art of soaring and hunting and are ready to carve their own path in the world.

Typically, red-tailed hawks reach sexual maturity at around 18 months, but they may not start breeding until their third year. Once they have found a mate, they use the branches to build their nests on the tallest branches of trees or on high cliffs.

Red-tailed hawks are monogamous birds that may bond for life, changing partners only after one bird dies. Their average lifespan is about 10-12 years, but they can live for over 20 years in the wild and nearly 30 years in captivity.

Immature red-tailed hawk perched on an obstacle

What are the red-tailed hawk’s natural enemies?

One of the red-tailed hawk’s biggest predators is the great horned owl, which often targets nestlings and juveniles that are left unattended. It is estimated that as many as 36 percent of red-tailed hawk chicks may be lost to predators in this way. Other birds of prey and wildlife, such as coyotes, bobcats, red foxes and raccoons, are also potential predators, especially if they encounter injured hawks.

Illegal hunting by humans, either for food or to drive hawk populations off their lands, also counts as the greatest known threat to red-tailed hawk survival.

A red-tailed hawk standing on the grass, Portland, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

How big was the oldest red-tailed hawk?

Examples of individual long-lived red-tailed hawks include a female who reached 29.5 years in captivity. In the case of senior birds, there have been documented instances of reaching 25 years and 9 months and 23 years and 5 months.

One such example is Pale Male, a celebrity in raptor circles, a wild red-tailed hawk that has been observed in New York’s Central Park since 1991 when it was first spotted as a yearling.

Although a bird matching the Pale Male’s distinctive light-colored plumage continued to be observed in the same nest in 2021, it was impossible to determine if it was in fact the same eagle that lived to impressively long, as the original bird was never ringed 31 years old.

How long can a red-tailed hawk live without eating?

Red-tailed hawks typically need to be fed every one to three days, depending on the size of their last meal, and whether they are feeding young.

Especially for chicks and juveniles, starvation can be a major cause of death when food sources are not adequate.

To maximize their chances of survival and increase access to food supplies, red-tailed hawks living in the far north of Canada and Alaska will migrate during the winter in search of less hostile environments.

Red-tailed hawk perched on tree stump

Can red-tailed hawks survive the winter?

Red-tailed hawks are predatory hunters, and during the winter they prey on hares, ground squirrels, mice, and other small rodents. They also feed on snakes, small birds, and their keen eyesight allows them to spot prey even in snowy landscapes. In winter, they typically consume a significantly higher number of calories per day than in summer.

To avoid the worst conditions and potential food shortages, red-tailed hawks living in the far north will migrate to warmer climates during the winter.

Are red-tailed hawks protected?

When the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 was passed, it provided important protections for the red-tailed hawk. Until then, since hawks are widely considered pests and predators, their numbers can be legally controlled by shooting. In addition to protecting the birds from hunting, the legislation also prohibits the capture or purchase of hawks from the wild as pets.

Exceptions to the law include falconers and wildlife rehabilitation professionals and centers who may care for captive red-tailed hawks.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service does not currently classify the red-tailed hawk as endangered or threatened.