ML646643124

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We observed this hawk on a power pole while driving Fish Springs Road. We noticed the dark chocolate brown plumage below with sparse white vertical streaks on the breast and instantly realized we should consider Harlan‘s Hawk, rare in Inyo County. The upper tail was not solid white with the dusky band, instead it was evenly barred dark brown and light brown in narrow bands. As such, we feel this was an immature. When it relocated to a different power pole further away, we could see the rectangular pale patches in the outer primaries, a good mark for first winter Harlan’s. By comparison, typical western Red-tailed Hawks that are intermediate in plumage between light and dark morphs can show white streaks on the breast and a banded tail, but those lack the distinctive rectangular patch in the upper primaries in flight.