Idaho Bird Records Committee Rarities Report Form

Rare Bird Report #: 87-B-06

Species: Red-shouldered Hawk

Reporter: Jay Carlisle (please credit Leroy Fink)

6105 Kirkwood Rd

Boise, ID 83709

jaycarlisle@boisestate.edu

Other Observers: Leroy Fink was the sole observer

Date Report Prepared: 12-19-06

Date Sighting Occurred: Sept 11, 1999 (captured & banded)

Locality of Observation: Boise Peak, Boise Foothills, Boise Co.; an Idaho Bird Observatory raptor migration banding site

Habitat: a prominent peak on a north-south trending ridgeline with a patchy mosaic of shrubsteppe, mountain deciduous shrubland, and conifer forest.

Conditions: Not certain but photos (showing clear blue sky - see attached) suggest the bird was captured during high pressure weather.

Did you take notes? no

Did you consult a field guide or other reference work? During and after the observation.

What guide(s) or reference(s) did you consult?

‘Hawks in Flight’ by Dunne, Sibley, and Sutton; National Geographic

Also, I used the following during report preparation: Crocoll, S. T. (1994). Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus). The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology; Retrieved from The Birds of North American Online database: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA/account/Red-shouldered_Hawk/

This Crocoll 1994 reference includes data on subspecies & measurements.

Description: The fieldmarks that Leroy used to identify this bird (and that are shown in the attached pictures) include: a whitish crescent-shaped pale patch at base of outer primaries; relatively long tail with many alternating dark and light bands; rufous coloration to ‘shoulder’ feathers (lesser coverts) of upper and underwing; and smaller size in relation to Red-tailed Hawks (the common Buteo that migrates past the site). The wing chord was 323mm, tail length 191mm, and the weight was 735 grams. The rich rufous in the wings and the whitish tail bands on this immature bird point to the elegans subspecies of California (mostly – some recent expansion to nearby states) and the wing length suggests female (Crocoll 1994).

Behavior: N/A as this bird was captured.

How and when did you positively identify the bird, and what clinched the identification for you? This bird was identified once captured by the rufous in the upper and underwings, the pale crescent-shaped patches in outer wings, and banding on the tail.

How did you eliminate similar species, and what were they? Possibilities include Red-tailed Hawk, Swainson’s Hawk, Broad-winged Hawk, and Northern Goshawk. However, none show the combination of features mentioned above.

Experience with this species (and similar species): Leroy has extensive experience with raptors of Idaho (both field and in-hand ID) and limited experience with Red-shouldered Hawks.

General birding experience: Leroy has birded for many years in Idaho and surrounding states

Were photo(s), video, and/or audio obtained by you? (If yes, please include or attach) Yes, see attached photos by Leroy Fink.