The Red-shouldered Hawk (*Buteo lineatus*) is a medium-sized raptor found across the eastern United States and California, easily recognized by its reddish-barred chest, checkered black-and-white wings, and banded tail; it prefers wooded habitats near water such as swamps, river bottoms, and mixed forests, where it hunts small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and large insects from a perch or in low glides, and is known for its loud, distinctive "kee-aah" call that it repeats frequently, especially during the breeding season or when defending its territory from intruders like crows or Red-tailed Hawks.