I took this photo back in February in the southern tip of Illinois. I was wondering if it was the Krider's variant of the Red-tailed Hawk.
It could very well be a Krider's Red-tailed Hawk. Wheeler's range map places them in this area. The Hawk's head and scapulars fit the description from Wheeler's below as does its almost pure white breast and belly.
Wheeler defines "Krider's" as the "pale morph of
B.j.borealis, the Eastern Red-tailed Hawk. See p.255 of the Eastern Edition of "Raptors of North America."
Describing the Head and Body of the Adult Kriders at p.255 he writes:
"HEAD-- In the purest form, the head is all white except for some dark streaking on the nape. Many birds have a small brown patch on the crown and a partial dark malar mark (these may be
borealis/calurus intergrades). Throat is always white and unmarked and never has a dark collar. BODY (dorsal)--Dark brown back and forward and rear scapulars are edged with tawny-rufous. A large white mottled area covers the middle two-thirds of the scapulars. ........... ."
I think that the picture in post #1 shows these markings best.
Bob