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3 Bird IDs, Louisville Kentucky (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter ltshears
- Start date
BigRedBirder
Active member
The two small birds look like female and male, respectively, House Finchs.
The raptor looks like a juvenile Accipiter, but not sure what kind.
The raptor looks like a juvenile Accipiter, but not sure what kind.
B Lagopus
Voler
Interesting juvenile accipiter!
The head is smallish and rounded, the bill is smallish, the legs are on the thin and small side, and the "expression" is gentle (for an accipiter). All those factors indicate Sharp-shinned Hawk.
However... no supercilium, or maybe just a hint of a tawny one, which are usually Cooper's Hawk characteristics... and while the density and thickness of the upper streaks are good for Sharpie, the flank and belly plumage is essentially unbarred, which is another Cooper's characteristic.
There is an almost complete overlap on plumage with juveniles, and structure trumps plumage, so I will vote for juvenile Accipiter striatus velox (Sharpie). Don't suppose you have any other photos, particularly ones showing the tail?
The head is smallish and rounded, the bill is smallish, the legs are on the thin and small side, and the "expression" is gentle (for an accipiter). All those factors indicate Sharp-shinned Hawk.
However... no supercilium, or maybe just a hint of a tawny one, which are usually Cooper's Hawk characteristics... and while the density and thickness of the upper streaks are good for Sharpie, the flank and belly plumage is essentially unbarred, which is another Cooper's characteristic.
There is an almost complete overlap on plumage with juveniles, and structure trumps plumage, so I will vote for juvenile Accipiter striatus velox (Sharpie). Don't suppose you have any other photos, particularly ones showing the tail?
JANJ
Well-known member
Agree with BL on the Accipiter and the description, in combination with the centrally placed eye makes a point for Sharp-shinned. Due to overlapping characters they are a h***l of a challenge sometimes, and a tail would be nice!
Remeber some threads here on BF.
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=43666&highlight=sharp-shinned+hawk
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=45249&highlight=sharp-shinned+hawk
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=41185&highlight=coopers+hawk
JanJ
Remeber some threads here on BF.
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=43666&highlight=sharp-shinned+hawk
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=45249&highlight=sharp-shinned+hawk
http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=41185&highlight=coopers+hawk
JanJ
Just for future reassurance, ltshears, you don't have to worry about all Accipiters - there are only 3 species that reside in the US - Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus, your bird), Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii), and Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis). Nice Sharpie shot, by the way!
