Is this light-colored Red-tailed Hawk a Krider's?

[chipperatl]

44 minutes ago, smittyone@cox.net said:

What do I call borealis in my area that aren't the lighter Plains-type? 

I'd call the "Plains-type" "light morph", others "intermediate morph", and those that are closer to abieticola "dark morph"🤣  I couldn't help myself.  I've never heard of "type" in reference to variations in Red-tailed Hawks.  Maybe I missed it somewhere.  

[smittyone@cox.net]

57 minutes ago, chipperatl said:

I'd call the "Plains-type" "light morph", others "intermediate morph", and those that are closer to abieticola "dark morph"🤣  I couldn't help myself.  I've never heard of "type" in reference to variations in Red-tailed Hawks.  Maybe I missed it somewhere.  

That's fine except borealis only comes in one morph.

[chipperatl]

1 hour ago, smittyone@cox.net said:

That's fine except borealis only comes in one morph.

I’m saying there are morphs😉  Although I’m not expert enough to make a publishable argument on it.  I’m guessing they could just be different types of variants, but not sure if there is a name for some of them.  I get some borealis that have way too much color on them, and others with nearly invisible belly-bands.  

[Snake Fingers]

My reaction when I clicked on this thread and attempted to read it: 😳

[Jerry Friedman]

6 hours ago, smittyone@cox.net said:

The attached map was borrowed from the redtailedhawkproject.org.  Although not indicated, I presume it depicts Red-tailed Hawk's breeding range.  Based on this map, my birding area in eastern Nebraska southward, put's me in the western middle of borealis territory.  But kriderii range is also within that same range.  Where I typically bird, there aren't any boreal forests or higher humidity regions, where the "darker" versions of borealis should normally be seen.  Therefore, my simplified logic dictates that, except for migration season, most, if not all the Eastern Red-tailed Hawks I encounter should all (or mostly) be Plains-type.  What do I call borealis in my area that aren't the lighter Plains-type? 

 

I don't think "type" is a scientific word.  He's just saying that Red-tails like that are more common on the Plains than elsewhere (probably for the reasons @Averysuggested).  But there are still more heavily marked borealis there too, as you know.  I don't think there's a reason to identify your pictures as "Plains-type" or have a name for the more typical types, if I can put it that way.

[Jerry Friedman]

3 hours ago, chipperatl said:

I’m saying there are morphs😉  Although I’m not expert enough to make a publishable argument on it.  I’m guessing they could just be different types of variants, but not sure if there is a name for some of them.  I get some borealis that have way too much color on them, and others with nearly invisible belly-bands.  

At one point, inspired by a mention of a "herringbone" belly-band, I attempted a classification of belly-bands based on fabric: slubby, macramé, polka-dot (like this) one, etc.  But I gave up.

[chipperatl]

7 hours ago, Jerry Friedman said:

At one point, inspired by a mention of a "herringbone" belly-band, I attempted a classification of belly-bands based on fabric: slubby, macramé, polka-dot (like this) one, etc.  But I gave up.

That is “Federal grant, 1 year sabbatical, and AI/Machine-learningl” type stuff.  Could be some interesting uses for that in the future, if it doesn’t decide to just end humanity one day.