smittyone@cox.net Posted December 14, 2021 Share Posted December 14, 2021 There are three very dark brown buteos consistently seen at Loess Bluffs NWR in NW Missouri lately. I've submitted two of them here for identification--both were ID'd as dark morph Harlan's RTHA. This is the third dark buteo, seen yesterday. Based on the lack of, what I call "white splotches or polka dots", I believe this bird is an immature dark morph Red-tailed Hawk, and not a Harlan's RTHA. Am I correct? I have plenty of shots from every angle, if additional pics are needed. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smittyone@cox.net Posted December 14, 2021 Author Share Posted December 14, 2021 Adding one more pic. Forgot I didn't include a frontal view. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seanbirds Posted December 14, 2021 Share Posted December 14, 2021 @Greenesnake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DLecy Posted December 14, 2021 Share Posted December 14, 2021 We don’t get a lot of Harlan’s in the Bay Area, but this looks fine for a dark morph bird, not harlani, based primarily on tail pattern along with a few other features. https://www.aba.org/birding_archive_files/v42n2p30.pdf 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greenesnake Posted December 20, 2021 Share Posted December 20, 2021 I agree that this looks better for a dark morph, non Harlan's, Red-tailed. Any flight shots of the underwing with the wings up? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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