mpfuchs Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 Walking the dogs this afternoon in Central Virginia, we've seen this bird feeding on a squirrel. I believe it to be some hawk but not sure exactly. Can you guys help me out? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akiley Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 Red-tailed Hawk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpfuchs Posted March 12, 2019 Author Share Posted March 12, 2019 10 hours ago, akiley said: Red-tailed Hawk. Thanks! That's what I was leaning towards, based on what I'd recently seen in the area. What was the giveaway though? The dark head? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kerri Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 If you snip it. copy and paste into a word document and enlarge it - you can see the belly band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpfuchs Posted March 12, 2019 Author Share Posted March 12, 2019 5 hours ago, Kerri said: If you snip it. copy and paste into a word document and enlarge it - you can see the belly band. Belly band. Hmm, interesting. None of my field guides actually show that feature. But one at least mentions it in the text. Dark belly band. Even though on the picture it looks more like a lighter colored belly band to me... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lonestranger Posted March 12, 2019 Share Posted March 12, 2019 59 minutes ago, mpfuchs said: Belly band. Hmm, interesting. None of my field guides actually show that feature. But one at least mentions it in the text. Dark belly band. Even though on the picture it looks more like a lighter colored belly band to me... Red-tailed hawks are quite variable in their appearance, including the visibility and brightness/darkness of their belly band. Some jump right out at you and look solid brown on a white belly, some show just faint flecks that barely show up on the white belly, and then there's the dark morphs that are dark overall and the belly band matches the same colour as the rest of the bird making the belly band even harder to pick up on. That's just a few of the variables. Isn't IDing birds fun? 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpfuchs Posted March 13, 2019 Author Share Posted March 13, 2019 20 hours ago, lonestranger said: Red-tailed hawks are quite variable in their appearance, including the visibility and brightness/darkness of their belly band. Some jump right out at you and look solid brown on a white belly, some show just faint flecks that barely show up on the white belly, and then there's the dark morphs that are dark overall and the belly band matches the same colour as the rest of the bird making the belly band even harder to pick up on. That's just a few of the variables. Isn't IDing birds fun? Totally agree! At least spotting haws is an exciting experience. Unlike trying to ID sparrows or sandpipers... ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpfuchs Posted March 16, 2019 Author Share Posted March 16, 2019 Same area, this time I was even able to identify the bird ;) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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