RFI: Help with Red-Tailed Hawk ID

[Bill Blackburn]

Hi all,

I was hoping that I could get some input on a Red-Tailed Hawk that I
photographed in northern-western Minnesota last May. I've posted
these photos on the MN equivalent of COBirds a few days ago and so
far haven't received any responses regarding the extent of white on
this individual . I hoping to determine if it is a Krider's Morph,
partially leucistic, an extremely pale Eastern Red-Tailed Hawk, or
something else. To be clear, the bird was photographed 30 miles
outside of Grand Forks, ND just inside the MN border on 5/2/12.

http://williamhblackburniibirding.shutterfly.com/pictures/179

I know we have quite a few raptor enthusiasts here in Colorado and
hopefully some of you will want a break from analyzing photos of
immature gulls and potential Hoary Redpolls. Sorry for the low
picture quality. Shutterfly is not the best host. I posted both the
originals and some cropped and blown up versions.

Thanks for any input

Bill Blackburn
Broomfield, CO
williamh...@gmail.com

[colorad...@aol.com]

Hi Bill et al.:

 

The bird is certainly a Red-tailed Hawk and it is certainly in the midst of its 2nd prebasic molt, the one that replaces most or all of its juvenal (=1st basic) plumage.  However, after that, figuring out what the bird is gets a bit tricky, which is not helped by the relatively low quality of the pix (due to distance).  The whiteness of the inner-primary panel and the tail suggests Krider's, but the obvious and extensive brown plumage on the head might be considered a strike against that ID, as might the fairly extensive and blackish belly band.  However, female Krider's tend to be more heavily marked than do males, so this might well be an immature female Krider's.  Then, there's the final problem:  What is Krider's?  It is considered by some to be a subspecies, but the extensive breeding-range overlap with Eastern Red-tailed Hawk -- overlap that is, essentially, if not actually, complete -- belies that treatment.  Though I don't recall where, I do recall reading a paper that strongly suggests that Krider's is simply a restricted-range light(er) morph of Eastern Red-tailed Hawk.

 

Enjoy,

 

Tony Leukering

Villas, NJ

 

 

 RFI: Help with Red-Tailed Hawk ID

Bill Blackburn <williamh...@gmail.com> Jan 28 12:20PM -0800