Raptors in Flight

Dessi Sieburth

Tue, Aug 17, 2021 7:00 PM

Distinguishing raptors in flight can be difficult, largely because they are so variable in plumage. Knowing status and distribution and which characteristics to look for can help to make the correct ID. Habitat, shape, structure, plumage, flight style, and behavior are all important when identifying raptors.

Join Dessi Sieburth as he takes us through the challenges and fun of raptor identification, with a focus on the large hawks known as buteos.

Here is a video of the talk:

Here is a table from the talk:

Species	Morph	Age	Belly band	Trailing edge	Tail band(s) from below	Upperwing/rump patch
Red-tailed Hawk	light	ad	present	present,bold	one faint band on red tail	absent
		juv	present	faint to absent	many faint bands	absent
	dark	ad	absent	present,bold	one faint band on red tail	absent
		juv	absent	faint to absent	many faint bands	absent
Ferruginous Hawk	light	ad	absent	faint	no bands on white tail	upperwing patch
		juv	absent	absent	no to faint bands on white tail	upperwing patch
	dark	ad	absent	faint	no bands on white tail	upperwing patch
		juv	absent	absent	no to faint bands on white tail	upperwing patch
Rough-legged Hawk	light	ad	present	present,bold	thick black band on white tail	rump patch
		juv	present	faint	thick faint band on white tail	both present
	dark	ad	absent	present,bold	thick black band on white tail	rump patch
		juv	absent	faint	thick faint band on white tail	both present
Swainson's Hawk	light	ad	absent	absent	dark band on end of barred tail	no to faint rump patch
		juv	absent	absent	no to faint band on barred tail	variable rump patch
	dark	ad	absent	absent	dark band on end of barred tail	no to faint rump patch
		juv	absent	absent	no to faint band on barred tail	no to faint rump patch
Zone-tailed Hawk		ad	absent	present, bold	3-4 white bands on black tail	absent
		juv	absent	faint to absent	many thin black-and-white bands	absent