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  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • Mission and Vision Statement
    • Equality and Diversity Policy
    • Annual Report
    • BSBO Board of Directors
    • BSBO Staff
    • BSBO's Visitors' Center >
      • Visit BSBO
      • Anna Macke Mikolajczyk Window On Wildlife
      • John Gallagher Memorial Birding Trail
    • eNews
    • BSBO Videos >
      • BSBO's 20th Anniversary by Deb Neidert
    • BSBO Blogs >
      • Kenn Kaufman's Crane Creek - Magee Birding Blog
      • BSBO Bird Bander's Blog
      • BSBO Education and Outreach Blog
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Contact Us
  • Support BSBO
    • Donate
    • Join or Renew
    • Sponsor A Mist Net
    • Year-End Appeal
    • Help BSBO while you shop
    • Our Wish List
    • Birds and Business Alliance
  • RESEARCH
    • Peer-Reviewed Publications
    • Passerines >
      • Passerine Research
      • Prothonotary Warbler Research
      • Building Collision Study
      • Oak Openings
    • Project SNOWstorm >
      • About Project SNOWstorm
      • Meet Buckeye
      • Meet Wolverine
    • Northern Saw-whet Owls
    • Research Highlights >
      • Gray-Cheeked Thrush from Colombia, South America
      • BSBO Bird Bander's Blog
    • Past Research >
      • Colonial Wading Birds
      • Ohio Winter Bird Atlas
      • Shorebirds
    • Reports >
      • Navarre Marsh Annual Banding and Survey Data
      • Annual Project Reports
    • Research Volunteer Form
    • Research Volunteer Page
  • EDUCATION
    • Bird Migration Profiles >
      • Cuckoos, Nightjars, Hummingbrids
      • Hawks, Woodpeckers
      • Flycatchers, Vireos
      • Crows, Nuthatches, Creepers
      • Wrens, Gnatcatchers, Kinglets
      • Thrushes, Mimids, Waxwings
      • Finches, Sparrows
      • Blackbirds, Chat, Cardinals
      • Warblers
    • Family Activities >
      • Free Online Resources
    • Young Birders >
      • Ohio Young Birders Club
      • Young Birders Network
      • Youth Birding Camps
    • Teachers >
      • Wetland Investigation Network
      • Songbird Banding and Migration Programs
      • Students Against Balloon Releases
    • Group Programs >
      • Presentations by Request
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    • BioBlitzes
    • Bird-safe / Birder-friendly Communities
    • Responsible Wind Energy
    • Conservation Updates
    • Position Statement on Feral and Free-Ranging Cats
    • Habitat Designations
    • Easy Ways for YOU to Support Conservation
    • Breeding Bird Surveys
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    • Lake Erie Pelagics
    • Highway Clean-up
    • Killdeer Plains Wintering Hawks & Owls Trip
    • Fremont Christmas Bird Count
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Winter Raptors: Mistaken Identity

1/14/2021

1 Comment

 
Photo Description: Red-tailed Hawk and Rough-legged Hawk collage, with three red-tailed pictures on the left, and three rough-legged pictures on the right
​Along with finches, owls, and sparrows, winter offers a fantastic opportunity to witness another arctic pilgrim in the lower 48,
​the Rough-legged Hawk (RLHA).

With a widespread winter range throughout the central and western US, RLHA is primarily limited to states north of Kentucky and Virginia in the east (although birds don't always conform to their range maps). With relatively few hawk species during winter in the eastern US, this large hawk is fairly unmistakable, with only one other species possessing a similar look and build: the Red-tailed Hawk (RTHA). Both of these raptors are in the genus buteo and look rather similar with a large wingspan, brown upperparts, and light underparts with dark streaking. Additionally, during winter these two species can often be found hunting the same fields and open areas, causing many double-takes as RLHA seekers carefully inspect every RTHA they come across.

For the sake of simplicity, we'll only focus this post on the type of RLHA and RTHA most commonly seen in the east: the light-morph RLHA and eastern RTHA subspecies (borealis). But it is a good idea to familiarize yourself with the dark-morph RLHA as well as the numerous RTHA subspecies.

Aside from the obvious red tail of the adult RTHA and feathered legs of the RLHA, there are a few other distinguishing features to keep in mind with these beautiful buteos. 

Photo Description: Red-tailed Hawk perched at the top of a conifer
Red-tailed Hawk
Photo Description: Rough-legged Hawk perched on a dead branch
Rough-legged Hawk
Beak Size: Although similar in body size, the RLHA's beak is much smaller than the RTHA. The RTHA has the stereotypical large, protruding hooked-beak of many raptors, whereas the RLHA's beak is much more petite giving its face a flat or even smooshed-in look, appearing somewhat more like a falcon.  ​
Photo Description: Red-tailed Hawk in flight, shown from underneath
Red-tailed Hawk
Photo Description: Rough-legged Hawk in flight, shown from underneath
Rough-legged Hawk
Belly and Breast: At some point along our birding journey, we've certainly heard of the "belly-band" field mark for RTHA. Plumage identifiers can all vary in appearance with each individual bird, but RTHA tend to show a band of dark vertical streaks around the mid-section of their body, often with the breast remaining pure whitish or with a few streaks around the edges toward the wings. RLHA also show this same feature, but amplified. Their "belly-band" is often a solid to mostly solid dark band (depending on age and sex) with heavy dark streaks covering the breast. 
Photo Description: Red-tailed Hawk in flight, shown from underneath
Red-tailed Hawk
Photo Description: Rough-legged Hawk in flight, shown from underneath
Rough-legged Hawk
"Arms" and "Wrists": Loosely applying some of our own human anatomy terms here, in flight and on the underside of the wings there are two spots to look for to differentiate these species. On the RTHA the patagium (the leading edge of the wing between the head and outer bend of the wing) shows a narrow, horizontal dark bar (a patagial bar), a gap of white, and then a narrow, vertical dark arc at the outer bend of the wing (or the "wrist"). The RLHA lacks this patagial bar and instead has a large, almost square dark patch at each "wrist."

These are just a few of the more obvious tips to distinguish between these two exquisite raptors in the east. Other differences include tail patterning, hunting style, and preference for perching locations. But like any other identification tip, every bird is an individual and shows variability (and can even behave variably), and identification should be based on more than one feature.  
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