Animal Summary

The zoo's red-tailed hawk was donated by the Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Icarus was received in 2008 after rehabbing at the Sanctuary after an injury he sustained in the wild. Due to his injury he is not able to be released back out into the wild but stays at the zoo watching the cars drive by in the park.

Facts

• The red-tailed hawk is the most common hawk in North America. They can be found in a wide range of habitats such as desert, grassland, woodlands, tropical rainforests, farm fields, and urban areas.
• Red-tailed hawks are monogamous and will mate for life. They use the same hunting and nesting territories year after year.
• They hunt by soaring high in the air, sitting on fence posts or road signs along grasslands and farm fields. Their eyesight is 8 times that of humans and they can spot prey up to 100 feet away.

Conservation

The red-tailed hawk is the most common and widespread hawk in North America. Numbers have increased due to forest fragmentation that creates ideal habitat for the bird.

Threats

There are no immediate threats to the red-tailed hawk population.