Red-tailed Hawk

I don't "do" in-flight shots, except on the very rare occasion : ) This Hawk was so far away, and I was curious as to what kind it was, so took a couple of quick shots for ID. Full zoom and very heavy cropping showed me that this was a Red-tailed Hawk. I'm really weak on Hawk ID, so my purpose for posting this shot is that maybe, just maybe, I will eventually remember the underwing markings of this species. It hasn't worked yet, but there's always hope, ha. Photographed two days ago along one of the backroads south of Highway 22X.

"Because they are so common and easily trained as capable hunters, the majority of hawks captured for falconry in the United States are Red-tails. Falconers are permitted to take only passage hawks (which have left the nest, are on their own, but are less than a year old) so as to not affect the breeding population. Adults, which may be breeding or rearing chicks, may not be taken for falconry purposes and it is illegal to do so.

The feathers and other parts of the Red-tailed Hawk are considered sacred to many American indigenous people and, like the feathers of the Bald Eagle and Golden Eagle, are sometimes used in religious ceremonies and found adorning the regalia of many Native Americans in the United States; these parts, most especially their distinctive tail feathers, are a popular item in the Native American community". From Wikipedia.

www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/id

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red-tailed_Hawk