Red-tails and What Prey is That?

Photograph by Cheryl Cavert
Cheryl Cavert of Tulsa has had some very hot days of hawkwatching of late, http://www.flickr.com/photos/cheryls_camera/


And R. of Illinois after seeing her photos wanted to know just what this hawk was eating. Many thanks to Cheryl for taking these wonderful photos which make great examples as to what to look for when hoping to identify prey. She was wondering if perhaps this was a Grackle. It's about the right size and those wings look about the right color.

First step: Is it feathers are fur? In this case, feathers. Dark flight feathers.

(Is it a Grackle?)
Second step: Can you see feet or beak? Feet, with longish toes.



Photograph by Cheryl Cavert
Ah ha! Feet pale in color.

And that tells you what? That it isn't a Grackle as they don't have pale feet.

But what else is apparent as the hawk continues the meal. There are pale gray feathers. Is that not a keel bone? Yes, and therefore those are likely pale gray breast feathers.

Can you think of a native bird this size with these characteristics.

1. Light gray breast

2. Dark primaries

3. Lighter secondaries, in mid-gray range (see photo)

4. Pale feet, not yellow or black.

I can't. That's Columba livia, a pigeon.

Photograph by Cheryl Cavert

As I was scrutinizing the prey, I saw something that might help identify this hawk the next time she appears.

Look past the prey feathers to the hawk's eye. Instead of having a much paler "eyebrow" like many hawks do, she has a white streak under her eye and not on top. That isn't all that common in the Red-tails I've seen though it could be different in Tulsa.

Folks of the Tulsa Forum? Is that the case?

Photograph by Cheryl Cavert
Look at that stuffed crop and compare with her crop in the first photo. It looks quite full there but even fuller here as she kept eating. Was that a particularly meaty pigeon or is this a second on top of a first. Is she feeding up these days in preparation for breeding season?

At least in NYC there is often a bumper crop of young pigeons hatched in October and off the nest by November. Some without much savvy in the ways of hunting hawks. Though one rarely sees a crop that full unless it is a well fed growing eyass, who needs many many calories to grow that rapidly.

Perhaps we just haven't noticed the formels doing it in earlier in the season prepping for those eggs that have to be produced.

TODAY'S TIDBITS

Autumn foliage with mallards--Yet another wonderful photograph and Central Park moment captured by the indomitable Eleanor Tauber


And here, one of the telling field marks cuing us that we're looking at House Finches and not Purple Finches. Do you know what it is?

See the back of the bird's head who is upside down? Instead of the vivid scarlet seen on the front and top of the male's head, the back of his head is more similarly pigmented to that of his back. Therefore--House Finch.

THE PYE REPORT
(Sorry about the eyes from the flash. My editing program isn't up to demon cat eyes. )

We're currently working on "this is my food" and that "is your food". Being a stray the smell of food currently sets her off out of habit though she has a big bowl of cat chow to indulge in anytime she wants some and the food panic is getting better. She's no dummy.

She sleeps next to me and if I sit down she invariably jumps into my lap for a nap. The bad spells occur if I have to leave the house to do an errand. By the time I return she is under the bed, meowing pitifully, and doesn't come out unless coaxed.

But I've no doubt this kitty is going to be just fine eventually.

Donegal Browne