Red-shouldered Hawk Calls (includes AUDIO)
Below, you will learn the most common call that a Red-shouldered Hawk makes. These beautiful raptors are very vocal every spring. They are so loud that most people hear them before seeing them.
Red-shouldered Hawk Calls:
- Make sure to press PLAY on the audio files below. 🙂
Red-shouldered Hawks (Buteo lineatus) are fairly easy to identify by sound. Listen for a LOUD “kee-ahh,” with the second note descending in pitch. The “kee-aah” call is often repeated. It is loud and can be heard from many miles away.
Naturally, these hawks are forest dwellers, but they are also common in suburban areas where houses have been mixed into woodlands. I see Red-shouldered Hawks often in my backyard, hunting near my bird feeders, especially during winter!
Red-shouldered Hawks are most often heard between April and June during the breeding season. They use their calls to attract females and defend territory. These raptors are common in the eastern half of North America. Interestingly, there is also a population that lives on the west coast.
Watch the short video below for more examples of calls and sounds from a Red-shouldered Hawk.
Have you heard the calls and sounds of a Red-shouldered Hawk before?
If so, please let us know below!
I was awakened by the loud calls of the red shouldered hawk. It sounded like an alarm call. I went around the house to see what might have alarmed it. And then it bolted from a nearby tree and went about 100 feet away. Would it be triggered by a coyote or another hawk or what? I did see several gray squirrels scampering around the large cottonwood tree where it fled from.
I had a couple red shouldered hawks in the trees behind my house today, July 1, 2026 in Grayson County, Texas. I had no idea what they were until I listened to the audio on your page. Thank you for helping me identify them.
I hear the Red Shouldered Hawk a lot here in Madison, NC. Plus lucky enough to see them occasionally in my woods. Sitting on my back porch now August 11, 2025 at 8:15 am listening to them and watching some deer.
Yes, we’ve had red shouldered hawks in our neighborhood woods for quite some time. We feed birds and they are preying heavily on our neighborhood birds. They have been incessant in their calling. The neighborhood is becoming quite discouraged with the noise and preying on our feeders.
My location: Berlin, Ohio (Holmes County)
I love your pages. I thought you just had eagle sounds. However after finding the next button I found you have lessons on humming birds which I have had alot of problems with the aggressive Palomas here in Cuenca, Ecuador. I want to have humming bird. I order two beautiful feeders, but the Palomas go after the feeders 🙁