ML376247691
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Location
- Age
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- Sex
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Observation details
First seen chasing an American crow low above the treetops; very manueverable--it was able to keep up with the crow for several sharp turns and dives; intially we thought it was a buteo. Long tail with a rounded tip. After the crow eluded it, the hawk soared and then drifted out of view. Some of the flight consisted of soaring in circles high above us, but we also saw a "flap, flap, flap, glide" pattern for a number of seconds. Whitish supercilium. Brown streaks along the length of the chest and belly. Upper part of body was brown. Whitish in the outer tail feathers. Long tapered wings. Big chest. Dark barring across the tail. White undertail coverts. Large head that projected well beyond the leading edges of the wings. Leading edges of the wings relatively straight; more straight than would be expected for a sharp-shinned hawk (which we also saw). Distant photos. We may have seen the same bird chasing a sharp-shinned hawk later, although more distantly than the first episode. Pictures of the first and second birds. Confirmed with considerable help from Louis Bevier. Thank you! Additional comments from Louis: "See the dark markings on the undertail/crissum. That and the wavy nature of the bands is classic. Cooper's white on undertail and sparsely streaked on lower abdomen; tail banding even not jagged or wavy like this bird. Wing shape perfect and head pattern looks right, as well as shape. Broad tail that is graduated with long central rectrices."
Technical information
- Dimensions
- 1272 pixels x 982 pixels
- Original file size
- 116.84 KB