Red-tailed Hawk

Tobias morphing into his pseudo battle morph and true form, the red-tailed hawk

"A hawk shot in through the open hayloft above. It turned sharply, killed its speed, swept its talons forward, and landed neatly on a rafter. It was a red-tailed hawk. Mostly brown on its back, a lighter, mottled brown and tan beneath. The bird took its name from its tail feathers, which were the color of rust. The hawk glared down at us with unbelievably intense brown and gold eyes."

―Cassie

The red-tailed hawk is a bird-of-prey that became Tobias' favorite morph, and the form he trapped himself in. Tobias also uses this form in combat. Tobias' mother, Loren, and the Auxiliary Animorphs acquire Tobias and use this morph as well.

Acquiring

"Tobias, how on Earth did you do a hawk morph?"
"There's an injured hawk right there in Cassie's barn. There's this cool osprey, too, but I decided on the hawk."

―Jake and Tobias

Tobias acquired an injured male red-tailed hawk in The Invasion, as it was a patient being treated by Cassie's father at the Wildlife Rehabilitation Clinic. Three years later, Tobias, who had been trapped in hawk morph shortly after first obtaining the morph, was acquired by his mother Loren in The Diversion so that she could escape from the Yeerks. Most of the Auxiliary Animorphs also acquired Tobias in The Ultimate in order to have a raptor morph, with James acquiring Tobias' red-tailed hawk form by The Sacrifice.

Usage

"Back when all this started, Tobias was barely an acquaintance of Jake and Marco, although I kind of knew him. He was a sweet, poetic kind of guy. The kind bullies love to pick on. He used to have messy, out-of-control hair and dreamy eyes that always seemed to be looking at something no one else could see. Used to... Now he has fierce, angry eyes that look through you like laser beams. Now he has brownish feathers, and a white chest, and a reddish tail, and cruel-looking talons, and a wickedly curved beak. Tobias was trapped in a morph. Now, he's a red-tailed hawk. A predator who lives on mice and rabbits and sometimes other birds."

―Rachel

Tobias becomes a nothlit in this morph. Because of Tobias's dual existence as both a hawk and a human, his friends sometimes call him "bird-boy". Tobias' narrations contain many thoughts on his internal conflict between his human and hawk sides. A common issue that arises is his need to hunt and kill to survive. The ruthless nature of the hawk contrasts with the more caring nature of human Tobias. Tobias sometimes wonders if he is losing his humanity because of this.

For Loren, the morphing ability restores her vision, but not her memories. It also helps fix her brain damage. Tobias is the bird morph for most of the Auxiliary Animorphs. In The Absolute, one of the Controllers is mentioned to be in this morph.

Appearances

• The Invasion (acquired and morphed by Tobias; becomes Tobias's new body)
• The Visitor (Tobias)
• The Encounter (Tobias, Price-Cut Polly/cover morph)
• The Message (Tobias)
• The Predator (Tobias)
• The Capture (Tobias)
• The Stranger (Tobias)
• The Andalite's Gift (Tobias)
• The Alien (Tobias)
• The Secret (Tobias)
• The Android (Tobias)
• The Forgotten (Tobias)
• The Reaction (Tobias)
• The Change (Tobias)
• The Unknown (Tobias)
• The Escape (Tobias)
• The Warning (Tobias)
• The Underground (Tobias)
• The Decision (Tobias)
• In the Time of Dinosaurs (Tobias)
• The Departure (Tobias)
• The Discovery (Tobias)
• The Threat (Tobias, a wild red-tail)
• The Solution (Tobias)
• The Pretender (Tobias, a wild red-tail)
• The Suspicion (Tobias)
• The Extreme (Tobias)
• The Attack (Tobias)
• The Exposed (Tobias)
• The Experiment (Tobias)
• The Sickness (Tobias)
• Elfangor's Secret (Tobias)
• The Reunion (Tobias)
• The Conspiracy (Tobias)
• The Separation (Tobias)
• The Illusion (Tobias)
• The Prophecy (Tobias)
• The Proposal] (Tobias)
• The Mutation (Tobias)
• The Weakness (Tobias)
• The Other (Tobias)
• Back to Before (Tobias/morphed by Tobias; alternate timeline)
• The Familiar (Tobias)
• The Journey (Tobias)
• The Test (Tobias)
• The Unexpected (Tobias)
• The Revelation (Tobias)
• The Deception (Tobias)
• The Resistance (Tobias)
• The Diversion (Tobias; acquired and morphed by Loren)
• The Ultimate (Tobias; acquired and morphed by thirteen Auxiliary Animorphs)
• The Absolute (Tobias; morphed by a Yeerk/Controller)
• The Sacrifice (Tobias; acquired and morphed by James)
• The Answer (Tobias)
• The Beginning (Tobias)

Known Morphers

• Tobias (nothlit; true body)
• Loren (acquired and morphed Tobias)
• James (acquired and morphed Tobias)
• Thirteen Auxiliary Animorphs.(acquired and morphed Tobias)
• Morph-capable Yeerks/human-Controller