Hawk ID needed. Texas Gulf Coast (1 Viewer)

[onlybill]

Hello again. Since I primarily photograph the shorebirds and waders I don't have much ID skill as far as hawks are concerned. This must be a juvenile, or I wouldn't have been able to get this close. 500mm(750mm-35mm equiv). So what is it? REGARDS~Bill

 

[marie b]

Imm. White-tailed Hawk, I believe. Beautiful bird & photo.

 

[power2thepeaceful17]

Short-tailed Hawk?

 

[power2thepeaceful17]

Imm. White-tailed Hawk, I believe. Beautiful bird & photo.[/QUOTE]

A species I, for some reason, always forget about. I agree with Marie.
Cheers and great pic.
Avery

 

[Jim M.]

I agree with juvenile White-tailed Hawk. Note the tawny feather edgings on the scapulars, wing tips extending slightly beyond the tail tip, blue cere, and dark brown iris. Nice photo!

Best,
Jim

 

[UncleGus_24]

I think it is a Juvenile Harris's Hawk . . . Uncle Gus

 

[Jim M.]

I think it is a Juvenile Harris's Hawk . . . Uncle Gus

Hi Gus,

These two hawks have been confused on this forum in the past, but it is not a Harris's Hawk, which has a very different structure. Notice on your photo how the tail of the hawk extends almost 6 inches beyond the wing tips, while on the subject bird the wing tips extend slightly past the tail, which is typical for White-tailed Hawk. Notice also the yellow cere on your photo. In the subject bird, the cere is green, as is typical of White-tailed Hawk.

Best,
Jim

 

[marie b]

I think it is a Juvenile Harris's Hawk . . . Uncle Gus

Hi Uncle Gus,
You're in one of my favorite parts of the world, but far from where I live now! Beautiful photo of the Juv. Harris's, but I think J. Moore pointed out the main differences; in particular the blue cere, wings longer than tail, and pale undertail -- then there's the white breast patch.

Now for your duck...... I'll leave that for Mr. Moore :smoke:

Oops, overlapped, slowly with Mr. Moore

 

[Jim M.]

FYI: Here is a link to a previous thread where a White-tailed Hawk was initially misidentified as a Harris's Hawk: http://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=117013&highlight=Harris's+Hawk+central

Best,
Jim

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

OK, I'm a bit confused now.

Post #1 is a white-tailed, post #6 is a Harris', correct?

 

[Jim M.]

OK, I'm a bit confused now.

Post #1 is a white-tailed, post #6 is a Harris', correct?

Yes. There is no dispute that the photo attached to post #6 is a Harris's Hawk.

Best,
Jim

 

[Jeff Hopkins]

Yes. There is no dispute that the photo attached to post #6 is a Harris's Hawk.

Best,
Jim

OK, that's what I thought.

 

[njlarsen]

Bill, I hope you will upload this image in the Gallery here, I don't see a single good image of a juvenile in there.

Cheers
Niels