Harlan's-esque Red-tail

[Lisa Millbank]

We were working in the yard when an unusual dark-morph Red-tailed Hawk soared by, with a normal Western light-morph also soaring over the neighborhood.  The dark Red-tail looked nearly identical to a dark-morph Rough-legged, except for shape and proportions, and the lack of a wide, solid subterminal band.

Overall, it looks like a dark-morph Harlan's.  The head, body, and wing linings are black, with some white streaking on the breast and white mottling on the underwing coverts.  The only rufous coloration is near the black-spotted tips of the tail feathers.  Otherwise the tail is light in color with faint barring near the base of the tail.  There are some mediocre photos attached.

After reading this interesting article by famous raptor guys Ligouri and Wheeler, I learned that it's not as straightforward as I thought to separate Harlan's and Westerns.  There are a lot of photos in the article that show how much overlap there can be between Harlan's and Western Red-tail plumages, especially in immatures and intergrades, and there are many plumage variations not covered in most field guides.  I'd still call it a Harlan's, but if anyone disagrees, I'd like to know what you think.

Lisa Millbank

[Olin Allen]

Lisa:

I'll stick my neck out here and say that I believe you're correct.  It looks like an intermediate or dark morph (or is that "intermediate dark morph?) adult Harlan's.  I don't think the tail pattern leaves any other choice.  As you noted, there's a minimum of barring, with the feather tips having a washed-out "red" color with irregular black markings - one of the classic Harlan's tail patterns.

Olin