Since moving to Georgia where there seem to be infinitely more hawks that are not Red-Shouldered Hawks than there are in Florida, I have gotten confused. I know the ID by sound. Red-Shouldered Hawks have a very distinctive sound. But if I don't hear it, as in this case, I am no longer sure. The hawk in this picture is huge, much bigger than any female Red-Shouldered Hawk I have ever seen. It was way far away, thus the lack of image quality and the lack of other views. This is the only view I had. So no tail, no feet, can't be sure about eye color. If it was not so huge my automatic reaction would be Red-Shouldered Hawk. Does anyone have an opinion about this ID? Thanks.
Posted by Charles Bell on July 23, 2018 at 12:50 PM
From your description of the large size, the fact that there is a hint of a belly band, and what looks like white on the scapulars, I suspect it is an eastern Red-tailed Hawk. Red-tails live throughout the U.S. and come in many different subtle color morphs. Some don't even have a red tail, though eastern birds have dark brownish red tails.
Thank you, Charles. I think you may be right. The overall first impression, maybe with a breeze blowing, not sure, was of white, and looking at allaboutbirds.org that looks right. I saw this bird the other day and it was getting mobbed by smaller birds, which is also in the description in allaboutbirds.org. The more solid brown of the head as opposed to being mixed with white also matches some morphs of Red-Tailed Hawks.
Just note that any hawk or owl sitting out in the open is likely to be mobbed by smaller birds in the area, so that observation has little value in identifying the species.
Discussion
4 repliesJust note that any hawk or owl sitting out in the open is likely to be mobbed by smaller birds in the area, so that observation has little value in identifying the species.