This is a Buteo. It is not an eagle or a harrier. There are only 4 species that show trapezoidal translucent areas on the hand from underneath when backlit. Ferruginious Hawk, or Juvenile Red-tailed, Broad-winged, or Rough-legged. (Red-shouldered Hawk shows a translucent CRESENT on the backlit under-hand.) Ferruginioius is easily eliminated, the wings are simply not pointed enough. The hand does not taper to a point. Broad-winged is eliminated by the wing-loading, i.e. the length of the wing divided by it's boradness. This bird's wings are too long, given their width, to be a broad-winged. (Not to mention season.) Rough-legged is a bit harder to eliminate by siloutte alone. But almost all of the images are of a bird either kiting or in a slight to moderate glide, with the exception of the first 3 pics. In none of the pics is the bird in a full soar. In none of the pics is there an indication of a dihedral. If you look at the 3rd pic specifically, the bird is demonstrating a modified dihedral. Point for Red-tailed. If you look at the 11th pic, you can see a dark hood (+1 red-tailed), a belly band (+1 red-tailed), what to me (chromatically challenged) appears to be a dark rufous wash on the breast (+1 red-tailed) and crissum (+1 red-tailed). In the first few images of the bird in a slight soar or a kite, the bird shows a lankiness characteristic of juvenile red-tailed hawk, and in the later pics in a glide is shows a moderate bent wing shape. I'm convinced this is a Juvenile Red-tailed. On Mon, Jan 28, 2013 at 10:17 AM, Paul Sunby <psunby@xxxxxxxx> wrote: > All, > > I actually see no reason why that bird isn't a young Red-tailed Hawk, > albeit in an unusual plumage. The bird has a brown head and a light > chest, giving it a hooded appearance quite typical of Red-tailed Hawk. > You don't get a hooded look on either eagle (and with the small bill it > is not a Bald Eagle) or on Rough-legged or Ferruginous hawks. Agree > with Heidi that the bird is decidedly not a Northern Harrier for the > reasons she identifed. > > Regards, > > Paul Sunby > Austin > > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: texbirds-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > [mailto:texbirds-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Heidi Trudell > Sent: Monday, January 28, 2013 9:52 AM > To: mark.scheuerman@xxxxxxxxx > Cc: TexBirds > Subject: [texbirds] Re: RFI - Help with Hawk? > > I'd love to see public discussion about this individual - the hazard of > voting is that if we vote on the gender of the classroom hamster, we > aren't necessarily right. > > It is decidedly not a Northern Harrier due to head shape, wing shape, > tail length... size can be deceiving, but the silhouette isn't great for > either of our eagles. I'm not entirely sold on dark Rough-legged Hawk, > as the pale 'hand' panels also fit young Red-tails. > > Would have loved to see the flight style of this bird, but will settle > for further discussion! So let's hear it - why do the Rough-legged votes > vote Rough-legged? How was Red-tailed Hawk ruled out for those cases? > > Happy trails, > -h > > Heidi Trudell > Marathon, TX > > > > Thanks to those responding. So far there is no consensus on this hawk. > Maybe this bird can't be ID'd by these photos? Could it be a > Rough-Legged Hawk? > > 2 votes for Rough-Legged Hawk (including my vote for imm RLHA) > > 1 vote for Golden Eagle > > 1 vote for N. Harrier > > 1 vote for imm Bald Eagle > > > -- > > Civilization is the limitless multiplication of unnecessary necessities. > - Mark Twain Big Bend Birds & Nature - http://www.bigbendnature.com Edit > your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at > //www.freelists.org/list/texbirds > > Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking > permission from the List Owner > > > Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at > //www.freelists.org/list/texbirds > > Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission > from the List Owner > > > Ronnie K, Austin Edit your Freelists account settings for TEXBIRDS at //www.freelists.org/list/texbirds Reposting of traffic from TEXBIRDS is prohibited without seeking permission from the List Owner