Most Red-tailed Hawks are rich brown above and pale below, with a streaked belly and, on the wing underside, a dark bar between shoulder and wrist. The tail is usually pale below and cinnamon-red above giving it the "Red-Tail". “Dark-morph” birds are all chocolate-brown with a warm red tail. “Rufous-morph” birds are reddish-brown on the chest with a dark belly. The bird in the photo is a "rufous-morph" adult. The variance of plumages can make identification confusing and difficult.

<a href="http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/id" rel="nofollow">www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/id</a>