We were very pleased to get a close view of this controversial rarity. This distinctive subspecies of the Red-tailed Hawk breeds in Alaska, the Yukon and extreme northern British Columbia. It is a very rare but regular winter visitor to California. The taxonomic status of this bird has been hotly debated but it is currently considered a subspecies by most authors. In the more common dark morph, it differs from other Red-tail subspecies in the unique white bases to the body feathers which show up as variable spots and blotches on the underparts as seen here. Note also white streaking on its forehead It usually lacks red in the tail and has more extensive tarsal feathering. However, the North American Checklist Committee unanimously rejected the proposal to elevate Harlan's to species status with interesting commentary at:
http://checklist.aou.org/nacc/proposals/comments/2019_A_comments_web.html#2019-A-2
