Posted by Rich Hoyer (208.164.96.41) on May 15, 2000 at 06:56:04:
In Reply to: Re: Horrible hawks posted by Joe Morlan on May 04, 2000 at 15:27:51:
: Broad-winged Hawk is a reasonable candidate for this bird, but what about juvenile Gray Hawk? This bird appears to show barred leg feathers and conspicuous white tips to the uppertail coverts. Would a Broad-winged Hawk show those marks?
I had a chance just last week to look at an immature Gray Hawk along the San Pedro River. It was perched for a while, then flew a short distance. I did notice that its leg feathers were barred just like on the Buteo in the mystery photo but unfortunately did not see the upper tail coverts. It had distinctly gray cheeks with a cinnamon rear border, and a virtually invisible supercilium. None of the rest of the bird showed any molt.
Consider that in flight, Gray Hawk should show a much longer tail than the mystery bird.