[texbirds] Results of Hawk ID quiz

  • From: "Sanchez, Isaac C" <sanchez@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • To: "texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <texbirds@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2013 12:23:05 +0000

http://www.flickr.com/photos/isaaccsanchez/sets/72157633314407688/detail/


Hawk #1: SHORT-TAILED HAWK (light morph); photo taken in Florida where 
Swainson’s are absent

Hawk #2: SWAINSON’S (classic adult features of a light morph, the kind of photo 
you see in a field guide)

Hawk #3: SWAINSON’S (light juvenile)

Hawk #4:  SWAINSON’S (another light juvenile)

Hawks #5 & #6:  Photos of the same juvenile RED-TAILED HAWK (a probable 
Krider’s)


Kudos to Bill Clark and Ronnie Kramer who correctly identified all 6 birds.  I 
would be interested, and I am sure others would as well, in what ID marks they 
used to sort out the Short-tailed Hawk from the others.

Clay Taylor made a very helpful comment about Red-tailed Hawks: The leading 
front edge of a bird's wing between the shoulder and the wrist (the patagium) 
is dark in a RTHA, a feature that is absent in hawks 1-4.     He also pointed 
out that the heavily-barred outer primaries are a good mark for RTHA, whereas 
SWHA’s have dark primary feathers (8-10), with no heavy barring.

Many other TEXBIRDERS correctly identified 5 & 6 as RTHAs, but I must confess 
this bird puzzled me the most.   Thanks to Clay, it is now clear that this is a 
RTHA.

Isaac Sanchez
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


Other related posts: