Another Red-tailed Hawk

Though fairly common, Red-tailed Hawks are cool-looking birds. I got this picture last autumn; perhaps the hawk regretted the autumnal leaf-dropping since the sparse foliage left it more exposed than earlier in the summer.

There's an obscured view of the belly band that my area's Red-tailed Hawks are known for. There's not a great view of the tail, though it looks to have more of a light brown color. I suspect this hawk may be young and hasn't yet acquired the burnt orange tail for which they're named.

It's worth mentioning that while the tail and the belly band are very reliable field marks here in NJ, in other parts of the continent there are subspecies too dark to have a noticeable belly band and/or may have dark brown or white tails.

October 2, 2021 at Duke Farms
Photo 168357965, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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