Birds
Golden eagle
Utah's state bird of prey, a big mountain and open-country hunter that mostly stays in the state all year.
Red-tailed hawk
A broad-winged hawk of open country whose tail color is not a reliable clue for young birds.
NPS says red-tailed hawks are generally 18 to 26 inches long with a wingspan of around 4 feet. Adults have a reddish-brown tail, but overall color varies from dark brown to nearly white, and the belly and underwing are usually lighter than the upper wing.
They live in many environments from cliffsides to forests. The diet is generally rodents, with occasional birds, rabbits and snakes. Red-tails are highly territorial, defend their ground against other hawks and birds, and mate for life, often returning to the same nesting spot year after year.
Because color varies so much, immature birds may lack the red tail, and a soaring hawk should be identified by shape and several marks. Watch from a road pullout or trail, and stay away from nest sites.
How to recognize it
Broad-winged hawk with a reddish-brown tail in adults; plumage varies widely.
Watching and staying safe
Watch from pullouts and trails; keep away from nests.
Places the sources name
Related profiles
File photo: A bison on Antelope Island with snowy Wasatch Mountains behind it (Taken on 18 March 2023, 19:26:38). Photo: Eric Kilby · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Mammals
American bison
North America's largest land animal, with wild herds on Antelope Island, in the Henry Mountains and in the Book Cliffs.