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Soaring hawk, Southern Vancouver Island (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter vpr
- Start date
The Bird Nuts
Birding Duo
Sharp-shinned for me.
birdmeister
Well-known member
Sharp-shinned Hawk for me as well.
birdmeister
Well-known member
Underpart streaking is better for Sharp-shinned (thicker/more blotchy, unlike Cooper's well-defined streaks). Tail shape is good for Sharp-shinned, but that isn't always reliable. Cooper's should show more head projection beyond the wings, too.
I'd say Cooper's for this bird. The head looks large and protrudes from the leading edge of the wings even with the wings folded during a stoop. The tail is definitely graduated, with the outer rectrices shorter, and the tail has wide white terminal band. The belly is unstreaked. The bird looks pretty massive through the chest.
Andy
Andy
TLeukering
Well-known member
First off, the bird is not soaring, a behavior involving extended wings, spread wing tips, and spread tail. Secondly, I would lean toward Coop, mostly due to the relatively unmarked side at the base of the wing. Sharpie is generally heavily marked there. I agree that the tail seems graduated, but I cannot really discern the precise shape of the outermost rectrix. Some juv female Sharpies can match this bird's tail shape.
Interesting! I didn't know that. I had been using "soaring" very casually to mean "flying without flapping much" but that's obviously wrong. Appreciate the correction, and all the other posts as well!
The Bird Nuts
Birding Duo
Hmm...looking at it again, I'm inclined to agree with Cooper's now.
Jeff Hopkins
Just another...observer
Cooper's was my first instinct.
