At 09:26 AM 11/24/97 -0800, you wrote:
> What else could it be..Don
> already chided me once about an immie male Coops I reported,
> so I should know better.. sighh-hhhh

Actually, Coops are relatively easy to sex in flight, or perched, in
most cases. Maybe one out of 100 birds will be "middling" enough to
be confusing. It does, though, take a fair amount of experience. And,
in the hand, they can easily be sexed via wing-chord, though the sex is
usually obvious without having to take one.

So when I chide you about sexing Coops, I'm essentially asking if you
really have the experience to do so reliably.

The point with redtails is that size isn't very reliable indicator, even
in the hand, so attempting to sex one that you've simply eyeballed is a
hopeless task even for the very experienced observer.

Of course, when I trapped a 650 gram redtail at the Goshutes one year I told
everyone I would bet just about anything it was a male. Didn't go on the
banding sheet as a male, though :)


- Don Baccus, Portland OR <dhogaza at pacifier.com>
Nature photos, on-line guides, and other goodies at
http://donb.photo.net