>
>Let's have some comments about this bird by someone who has had experience
>with Buteo buteo.
>
>Pictures from last year can be found at:
>http://www.bluestreak.com/rarebirds/buteo/buteo.html
>
>Scott Ray
>

This is probably way more analysis than anybody wanted, but I'm trying to
avoid grading papers...

I downloaded the photos and reedited them so I could see them all at
once. I also did some enhancement (mostly gamma adjustment) to improve
the exposures. I will identify the photos as B1a and B1b for the first
set, representing the bird photographed last year and B2a, B2b, B3a, B3b
and B3c for the two photo sets of the bird(s) photographed this year.

I do not know the circumstances surrounding the time frame for the photos
taken this year, but photo B2a appears to be a different bird than all
subsequent photos. The amount of white on the breast, the bill shape and
color and details of the tail seen significantly different. It also seems
pretty clear that it is a subadult Red-tailed hawk.

I do not believe that photo B1a and B1b are of the same bird seen this
year. Both exposures are sub-optimum, but enhancement of the contrast
seems to show stronger face patterning on last year's bird (particularly
a strong supercillium). Last year's photos and this year's photos
probably represent 2 different juvenile birds. Photos B1a and B1b are
not really good enough to make definitive statements as to identity, but
there is little in them to suggest anything more unusual than oddly dark
Red-tailed Hawk.

The photos of this year's dark individual (B2b and the B3 series) are
pretty clear and, I think, allow us to eliminate Red-shouldered Hawk
(look at all that creamy white in the coverts). I must admit that the
notion of this bird being _Buteo buteo_ is intriguing. It's been twelve
or so years since I last saw one, but as I recall they are much warmer
looking than this bird (especially since we would be most likely to
score _Buteo buteo vulpinus_, the Steppe Buzzard). Even so, all those
creamy bits in the coverts and back... those are Red-tail markers and
I think you'd be hard pressed to convince a records committee that this
wasn't just a dark juvenile Red-tailed Hawk.



--
*********************************** I got the blues so bad one time
* Mike Patterson, Astoria, OR * it put my face in a permenant frown
* mpatters at orednet.org * but I am feelin' so much better
*http://www.pacifier.com/~mpatters* I could cake-walk into town