In the spring of 2016, Hollywood arrived at the National Eagle Center as our only non-eagle resident. She is a beautiful Red-tailed Hawk, a representative of North America’s most common raptor species.

She was hit by a car and brought to the Carolina Raptor Center of Huntersville, North Carolina where it was discovered that she suffered a severely broken left wing. Following surgery and weeks of rehabilitation, it was found that her wing was no longer able to fully extend due to calcification in her elbow joint. This made it impossible for her to fly.

Hollywood serves a unique and important role at the Center – she helps train new staff, interns, and volunteers how to work with and around raptors (always better to start small). Red-tailed Hawks are known for being excellent training birds and she is no exception.

Wanting to still have a connection to eagles, the name of “Hollywood” was proposed. This is because when eagles are shown in commercials and movies, they are commonly given a Red-tailed Hawk call. This is because an actual Bald Eagle call, which sounds like a cackle, is not considered to be very fitting of such an iconic creature. By naming our Red-tailed Hawk “Hollywood”, the Center has a great way to educate about how Bald Eagles are commonly misrepresented in pop culture.

Hollywood lives off-display in a private mew, but is a featured highlight of our Behind the Scenes experiences where our guests meet her up-close!

• Female
• Hatched in 2015
• Rescued near Huntersville, NC
• National Eagle Center Ambassador since 2017