Raptor ID help please (1 Viewer)

I'm sorry for the poor quality. I didin't have much time. These are photos of a raptor taken in Montana in July. Initially was thinking Red tailed hawk but now not really sure. Thanks in advance!! Harlan's?? (I know that's basically a Red tailed variant)

These are somewhat difficult photos to analyze but based on what looks like a pale rectangular panel above the primaries in the 2nd picture and the thin light and dark bandings on the tail in the 4th picture, it looks like a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk. So your initial impression was probably correct!

Bob

Allen1tx said:

I'm sorry for the poor quality. I didin't have much time. These are photos of a raptor taken in Montana in July. Initially was thinking Red tailed hawk but now not really sure. Thanks in advance!! Harlan's?? (I know that's basically a Red tailed variant)

Click to expand...

Regarding your query about it being a Harlan's Hawk, a sub species of the Red-tailed Hawk, things get complicated. As you know their tails have great variations at maturity.

I'm confident that this bird is a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk, probably a "Western" B.j.calurus. Harlan's Hawks are still in their Breeding grounds in the Canadian Yukon Territory and Eastern Alaska in July. They leave their breeding grounds in September for the Mississippi Valley region where they winter over.

Photographs of Juvenile Harlan's Hawks in Wheeler's "RAPTORS of Western North America" show their tails to have brown broad, moderate or narrow equal width dark and light tail bands. Their heads can be varied, either mostly white or dark brown or even mostly black.

Bob

Thanks for the information and the reply!!