Red-tailed Hawk

Clinical context for red-tailed hawk dosing

Red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) are the raptor most often presented to North American wildlife rehabilitation, which shapes their pharmacology: lead toxicosis from ingested shot and bullet fragments is a leading presentation, treated with calcium-EDTA chelation, and trauma cases dominate analgesic and antimicrobial use. Reverse sexual dimorphism is pronounced (roughly 800–1600 g), so weight-based dosing must use the measured bird. As a buteo they tolerate handling less well than falconry-conditioned species, making capture stress and capture myopathy genuine peri-treatment risks.