{"id":122882,"date":"2022-11-01T05:26:39","date_gmt":"2022-11-01T11:26:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.featheredphotography.com\/blog\/?p=122882"},"modified":"2022-11-01T11:04:54","modified_gmt":"2022-11-01T17:04:54","slug":"do-adult-red-tailed-hawks-always-have-dark-eyes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/featheredphotography.com\/blog\/2022\/11\/01\/do-adult-red-tailed-hawks-always-have-dark-eyes\/","title":{"rendered":"Do Adult Red-tailed Hawks Always Have Dark Eyes?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The answer might surprise you.<\/p>\n

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As most raptor aficionados know, adult Red-tailed Hawks typically have dark brown eyes and distinctively red tails in the dorsal view.<\/p>\n

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Juvenile and immature Red-tailed Hawks have pale yellowish eyes and lack the red tail.<\/p>\n

But the transition to having a red tail isn’t in lockstep with the change in eye color. The transformation of eye color from yellow to brown occurs over several years and it happens more quickly in some individuals than in others, so some adult Red-tailed Hawks with red tails still have yellow eyes.<\/p>\n

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As was the case with this Red-tailed Hawk I photographed two days ago in northern Utah. This bird has a red tail but its eyes are still yellow.<\/p>\n

So beware of using eye color exclusively to distinguish adult Red-tailed Hawks from juveniles or immature birds. Yes, it’s nearly always true that Red-tailed Hawks with dark brown eyes are adults but some adults (with red tails) only a year or two old may still have yellow eyes.<\/p>\n

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And I love looking into those yellow eyes from up close. To me, for no logical reason I can think of, they seem to have more depth and character than the dark eyes of adults.<\/p>\n

They make me wonder what the bird was thinking when I took the photo.<\/p>\n

Ron<\/p>\n

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Notes: <\/em><\/p>\n