Urban Animals: Red-Tailed Hawks

Bobby (on the left) and mom, Violet guard their three speckled eggs.
Photo: CHRISTOPHER JAMES/NYU

The 12th floor of New York University’s Bobst Library received some unlikely visitors, a pair of red-tailed hawks who set up their nest right outside the window of the university president’s office. The mother, Violet, was named after the school’s sports teams and official color. Bobby, the father, is named after the school’s library and can sometimes be seen delivering pigeons and mice to the nest. One of their babies hatched from its speckled egg in early May.

You can follow the live video feed of Violet and her family online at New York Times‘ City Room.

DID YOU KNOW:

• A red-tailed hawk sitting on the roof of a 10-story building would be able to spot a mouse down below in the street!
• Red-tailed hawks have eyes that are too big to move around in their sockets, so they can only see what is in their field of vision in front of them. They must turn their head in order to see something in a different direction.
• Dining on smaller creatures such as rats, pigeons, mice and rabbits, the red-tailed hawk is part of a group of birds called raptors.  Unlike owls, these birds of prey hunt during the day and sleep at night.

If there is an animal in your city that you would like to see in IndyKids, please email us at info@indykids.org and let us know!