[Mnbird] Interesting raptor seen this morning-help needed with ID

[Arjun Guneratne]

Hello all,

Many thanks to everyone who responded to my query. The consensus is that it
was indeed a leucocistic Red-tailed Hawk. A good start to my Christmas day.

What prompted me to ask my question was that when I went on the web to look
for photos of FEHA and leucocistic RTHA, I came across some photos of FEHA
with reddish tails (like this one
<https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogspot.com%2F-0bWO-WJArvw%2FUqEdLjWqJRI%2FAAAAAAAABEY%2FnncrzrGB5KU%2Fs1600%2FFerr%2B02.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fjerryliguori.blogspot.com%2F2013%2F12%2Fferruginous-hawks.html&docid=vPTMUm1AOJMkdM&tbnid=37KV74knZnWkDM%3A&vet=12ahUKEwi_0rnV-NTmAhUOnq0KHZPRCYE4rAIQMyhRMFF6BAgBEFc..i&w=956&h=576&itg=1&bih=912&biw=1833&q=ferruginous%20hawk%20tail%20feathers&ved=2ahUKEwi_0rnV-NTmAhUOnq0KHZPRCYE4rAIQMyhRMFF6BAgBEFc&iact=mrc&uact=8>),
and this is also illustrated in the field guides (Peterson says it has a
rufous wash on tail).

FEHA would have been a nice Christmas present, but a leucocistic Red-tail
is not to be sneezed at.

On Wed, Dec 25, 2019 at 8:34 PM Arjun Guneratne <guneratne at macalester.edu>
wrote:

> Resending this, as it did not go through first time.
>
> Hello Minnesota birders,
>
> I need help with this ID. Any opinions on what this could be?
>
> This morning, I was driving down Montreal Avenue through the Highland Golf
> Course when my daughter spotted a large raptor perched on the ground by the
> road, tearing at something. It was large, perhaps bigger than a RTHA,
> mostly white with dark brown mottling on its upperparts, a red tail, and
> light brown streaks on its feathered upper legs and what looked like a
> mottled brown collar around its neck. See links to photos.
>
> We stopped and I took several photographs. My first thought was that it
> was a leucocistic Red-tailed Hawk but there are several points that don't
> fit with that ID, including that it seemed a bit bigger and chunkier than
> RTHA.  The other possibility is that it is a (possibly leucocistic)
> Ferruginous Hawk —which would be amazing. Anything else it could be? See
> the photos below:
>
> 1. https://flic.kr/p/2i5kod8
> 2. https://flic.kr/p/2i5oMaJ
> 3. https://flic.kr/p/2i5oNGw
>
> RTHA is most likely candidate, and it has a red-tail
>
> but could it be Ferruginous Hawk?
> -legs aren't visible in any of my photos, but the tibia are heavily
> feathered.
> -there is no indication of a dark belly band (although if it is a
> leucocistic RTHA, that might explain it). Might not be visible from the
> angle I saw it, pretty much as in the photograph.
> -bill very large relative to size of head
> -my impression that it was larger than RTHA; quite a beefy looking bird.
> -Hard to see the extent of the gape, but it seems to reach to below about
> the midpoint of the eye
> -the cere is yellow (this seems to be consistently the case with FEHA,
> less so with RTHA, going by images on the web)
>
> Here's an image of FEHA that looks something like this bird in shape:
> https://twitter.com/badlandsnps/status/793612380689338369
>
> Help with this ID would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
>
> --
> Arjun Guneratne
> Professor of Anthropology
> & Director of Asian Studies
> Department of Anthropology
> Macalester College
> 1600 Grand Avenue
> Saint Paul, MN 55105
>
> Phone: (651) 696-6362
> Fax: (651) 696-6324
>
> Students who wish to make an appointment to see me during regular office
> hours, click here
> <https://calendar.google.com/calendar/selfsched?sstoken=UU5kWlZtMXBRZTdhfGRlZmF1bHR8NDEzNDEzYjFhMGJlYTU5ZTU2ODdlZTA3ZjYxMTg0Y2I>;
> if these times do not work for you, please email me to make an appointment
>
> President, Macalester AAUP All-Faculty Chapter
> https://www.aaup.org/membership/join
>
> Book Review Editor for South Asia,
> *The Journal of Asian Studies*
>
> Website
> <http://www.macalester.edu/academics/anthropology/facultystaff/arjunguneratne/>
> Publications <http://works.bepress.com/arjun_guneratne/>
>
>

-- 
Arjun Guneratne
Professor of Anthropology
& Director of Asian Studies
Department of Anthropology
Macalester College
1600 Grand Avenue
Saint Paul, MN 55105

Phone: (651) 696-6362
Fax: (651) 696-6324

Students who wish to make an appointment to see me during regular office
hours, click here
<https://calendar.google.com/calendar/selfsched?sstoken=UU5kWlZtMXBRZTdhfGRlZmF1bHR8NDEzNDEzYjFhMGJlYTU5ZTU2ODdlZTA3ZjYxMTg0Y2I>;
if these times do not work for you, please email me to make an appointment

President, Macalester AAUP All-Faculty Chapter
https://www.aaup.org/membership/join

Book Review Editor for South Asia,
*The Journal of Asian Studies*

Website
<http://www.macalester.edu/academics/anthropology/facultystaff/arjunguneratne/>
Publications <http://works.bepress.com/arjun_guneratne/>
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