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Posted by Trey on 05:48:00 04/02/12
In Reply to: Re: Image Comparison - Zone/Short-tailed Hawk in photo posted by Grover Larkins
So everyone knows Toe's Photo was actually taken in Columbia... So thinking like you normally should, the bird would more likely be a Short-tailed due to the absolute rarity of a Zone-tailed being seen here in south Florida...flies out the window.
I took care to find comparison photos of birds in the same position... I could go into details, but the body angle in relation to the photographer is almost if not identical.
Dark morph Short-tailed Hawks are more common in South Florida compared to it's range elsewhere. According to what I could find online, Light morph Short-tailed Hawks are common and Dark morphs would be rare in Columbia... Online research... so if I'm wrong it's due to limited resources.
Unless Short-tailed Hawks wing length varies as much as seen in these photos, it seems more likely to me that the right ID for the bird based on the location and the length of wings in relation to the body make the bird a Juvenile Zone-tailed Hawk. Tie that in with Toe's personal observation that the bird appeared much larger than a Short-tailed Hawk comparing to nearby Turkey Vultures.
April Fools Day is always fun...
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