10 replies to this topic

[SFPeninsula]

I did not take this picture, it looks kind of like Red-shouldered hawk, is it? San Francisco. Thanks in advance.

[Indybirder]

Red-tailed Hawk, actually.

[jdeitsch]

seconded

[psweet]

Thirded. A Red-shouldered would show some black-and-white checkering above and less contrast between the head and the breast.

[JimUSNY]

Maybe its the lighting, but that breast looks pretty orangish for a red tailed to me, or maybe they are like that out west?

[psweet]

It's likely not the lighting -- they really can look that way out west (and occasionally even the Midwest in the winter -- some of the northwestern birds come this far east. I can't say whether they'd ever reach New York).

[SFPeninsula]

The red breast made me think of anything but RTH, so is this a dark morph or dark morph juvenile RTH?

[creeker]

Pretty typical western Red-tailed there. Here's a similar one......

[psweet]

Agree with Creeker, this guy's fairly typical. The dark eyes actually indicate that it's an adult. The coloration on western birds varies from quite light to very dark, with several stages of rufous color in between -- they don't show a simple light/dark morph sort of system.

[JimBob]

I remember on Saturday, I saw my first western. It was so dark, I thought turkey vulture. Lifted binocs, yep red tailed.

[cestma]

Pretty typical western Red-tailed there. Here's a similar one......

That your hand, Creeker?