smittyone@cox.net Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 Seen this afternoon at Loess Bluffs NWR in NW Missouri. Is this any of the three guesses in the title, or am I way off? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexHenry Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 (edited) Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk. Maybe Harlan's subspecies. Ferruginous has longer, narrower tipped wings, broader head with longer gape, and clean white underside to primaries and secondaries - even on the dark morphs - without all that barring. Adult Harris's is distinctive. Juvenile Harris's would have rusty underwing coverts and a longer, white based tail. Edited March 12, 2020 by AlexHenry 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smittyone@cox.net Posted March 12, 2020 Author Share Posted March 12, 2020 Thank you very much AlexHenry for the quick reply and the informative comments as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jefferson Shank Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 Dark morph Red-tailed Hawk(calurus/alascensis) like this one HERE. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevin Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 Welcome to Whatbird! I agree with Red-tailed Hawk. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexHenry Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 4 hours ago, Jefferson Shank said: Dark morph Red-tailed Hawk(calurus/alascensis) like this one HERE. Actually banding near the tips of the outermost primaries (P9 and P10) suggests juvenile Harlan's to me, juvenile dark morph calurus usually would have more solidly dark underside to tips of P9 and P10. But subspecific identification of Red-tailed Hawks, and especially juveniles, can be difficult and in some cases impossible due to extreme plumage variation even within subspecies. I would say this is probably Harlan's subspecies. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerry Friedman Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 In addition to the primaries, the white mottling on the head and body is consistent with Harlan's, and the tips of the tail feathers look "spiked", with dark at the tip and white on either side, which is a good sign for juvenile Harlan's, as seen at the Hawkwatch International site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Leukering Posted March 16, 2020 Share Posted March 16, 2020 On 3/12/2020 at 1:05 PM, Jerry Friedman said: In addition to the primaries, the white mottling on the head and body is consistent with Harlan's, and the tips of the tail feathers look "spiked", with dark at the tip and white on either side, which is a good sign for juvenile Harlan's, as seen at the Hawkwatch International site. Bang on! Additionally, Harris's Hawks in ALL plumages have extensive white base to tail and little or no tail banding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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