atxrvabyrd Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 This was from August, 2013. A bird that's bugged me for a while. I have a guess, but it would be my only sighting of one ever--and that before I'd begun seriously birding. So, I'm going to just leave it at that. Have at it. 2013-08-06 11.28.16 2013-08-06 11.41.05 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melierax Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 Ferruginous Hawk. Beautiful! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Friedman Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 (edited) Nice shots! I'd say your guess is right—feathered legs, no white scapulars, nondescript tail. A juvenile red-tail would have many narrow, distinct white [edit: dark!] bands. Maybe the gape is a little short and the head is a little brown, but I haven't seen many of these guys and don't understand their variation. (Uh-oh, better see what Melierax said.) Edited January 21, 2019 by Jerry Friedman 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Melierax Posted January 21, 2019 Share Posted January 21, 2019 (edited) I agree with those ID points. Very light colored head is a good mark as well. Back is a softer gray with white spots localized on the wings. Stance, behavior, and wing length are also good things to look at. Edited January 21, 2019 by Melierax 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atxrvabyrd Posted January 22, 2019 Author Share Posted January 22, 2019 Awesome. Thanks so much, everyone--both for the ID and for enumerating the field marks. Ferruginous was in fact what I was thinking/hoping for. It was just hanging by the roadside along the main road of the Rocky Mountain Arsenal NRW. Not what we would have expected for a hawk like this. Great place. Saw our first Burrowing Owls there, too. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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