Subject: status of R-t Hawk morphs/subspecies in Pac. NW
Date: Mar 17 13:30:06 1998
From: Charles Swift - charless at umich.edu


Tweeters:

Recently somebody posted that they had seen Krider's Red-tailed
Hawk somewhere in the area, however, my Peterson Hawks (Clark & Wheeler)
indicates that they are generally found in the Great Plains during the
summer and in the central south in the winter. So what is the status
of this sub-species in the PAC NW? I would not have thought they would
make it here.

The Peterson book also mentions that Harlan's subspecies winters primarily
in the central south (Arkansas, Missippi, Texas, Oklahoma, Missouri) and is
widespread but rare elsewhere. Around Moscow both the rufous and dark morph
of the Western Red-tailed Hawk are regular (but less common than the light
morph).
I assume that all of these dark morphs require good looks and careful
identification when considering Harlan's as a possibility. Most of the Harlan's
reports seem to be coming from the western side of Washington (this seems
reasonable as this subspecies nests in Alaska & I assume are
migrating down the coast). So I'm wondering if there's any discernible
pattern to the distribution of the Harlan's subspecies in the PAC NW and
also for
the dark morphs of the Western Red-tailed Hawk (particularly west of the
Cascades).

Thanks much,
Charles.

ps Okay - I don't have any Washington bird books yet in my library. I'm still
working on Idaho.
^__^ ========================
(0 0) Charles E. Swift
| \/ | charless at umich.edu
\ / Moscow, Idaho
\/ I'm for the birds!
========================