Many birders and banders use the Pyle guide as a standard reference. While it is a great start for most species, there are some inaccuracies that birders and banders should be made aware of. I don't make a habit of pointing out errors in other's works, but I think it is helpful and appreciated. On page 445 of Pyle's guide it says: "Krider's Red-tailed Hawk…occur as vagrants to CA-AZ. These are medium to large in size…Krider's Red-tailed Hawk is here considered a white morph of borealis (Wheeler 2003), although, based on size it may also be a morph of calurus (Dickerman 1989), or of both subspecies." This sentence piques my curiosity. Before this quote, Pyle states the breeding range for Krider's pretty accurately as "south-central Alberta-eastern Manitoba to northern CO-northwest NB, winter to Texas." So how can Krider's be a morph of calurus, or, "a morph of both subspecies"? To clarify, in Wheeler 2003 it states that Krider's is a "pale morph" of borealis, and in the 1989 Dickerman paper, he does not associate Krider's with calurus. I'm also curious about what 'size' is being referred to here, and every Red-tail race is "medium to large" in size.

The issue with "Krider's occurring from California to Arizona" is that there are no substantiated Krider's records west of the Rocky Mountains. All of the reports in that area documented with a photo have turned out to be a light-morph Harlan's (the two subspecies can look very similar to each other). So, the Krider's referenced from CA-AZ is an extraordinary claim. Of course, Krider's could or has already occurred west of the Rockies, and I suspect it will be documented sooner or later for sure. Here are some Krider's and light-morph Harlan's below for future reference (check out the juvenile and its adult plumage a few years later -- follow-up instances like this are invaluable). And a downloadable PDF of a study of Krider's hawks. During this study, we did not see a single calurus from the grasslands of eastern MT to the MN state line south to SD, but did document many Krider's breeding with typical borealis and abieticola: http://www.aba.org/birding/v42n2p38.pdf

Just a side-note, the latin name is spelled "krideri" in Pyle's text, however, "kriderii" is the proper spelling, and describing Krider's as a "morph" is unusual since it has been proposed as a race in the past, may very well be today, and is typically treated as such in literature since it has a distinct breeding range, so defining it as a light-morph variant sounds better. To be fair, I know what it's like to have your ideas questioned. I stated about 7 or 8 years ago that I thought Harlan's Red-tail could be closely related to borealis for several reasons, and was dismissed by some. But recent DNA tests (Hull, et. al. 2010) show that Harlan's and borealis are closely related, and the two are found to freely interbreed. I can't fault anyone who makes mistakes researching the entire list of species and subspecies in North America, my point is to simply help rectify and decipher some issues.

 Adult Harlan's 

Adult Harlan's 

Adult Harlan's

Adult Harlan's

Juvenile Harlan's (left) Adult (right) - Same individual

Juvenile Krider's

  Adult Krider's

  Adult Krider's

  Adult Krider's

 Adult Krider's

I was out at Farmington Bay a while back and ran into a few photographers. One of them said to me "You know I''m the best wildlife photographer in North America?" I said "oh, congratulations, what is your name?" he mentioned his name, and I said "Oh, I've never heard of you, but thank you for letting me know I met you…I'll definitely remember you now!" I love going out on any given day, and not knowing what you might see or who you might run into. And I love going on the internet and checking out other people's photos, the collection of stunning wildlife images is incredible! And if I spend any time at all looking, I can find thousands of photographers whose pictures I can fall in love with. I am thrilled that photography has grown in leaps and bounds, and that the technology has leveled the playing field for just about everyone. Ironically, last year at the same spot, I met a different man who said he was "the best bird flight photographer in North America." Its a funny world, but a great one when you can meet people with that stature out of the blue.

What makes a good photographer? And what makes a "best" bird photographer?" I don't know...some people simply have more time than others, some people are around more birds than others, some people have better equipment than others, some people know their subjects, some people have an innate skill. I mean, there are so many factors that go into one individuals portfolio. My friend Shyloh bought his first camera just about one year ago, and he has some of the best images I've seen (below)…is he the best -- maybe? This blog gives me the opportunity to showcase a few of Shyloh's pictures here, which I am happy to do, especially since lots of them are raptors. Oh, one last thing, I checked out the websites of the 2 guys who claimed to be the best, and one had image after image of baited birds on his site. Regardless of how you feel about baiting, photography in that manner doesn't take a lot of skill…and there's no debate there! But to each his own…enjoy your enjoys! 

 Red-tailed Hawk

 Red-tailed Hawk

 American Kestrel

 Red-tailed Hawk

 Red-tailed Hawk

 Swainson's Hawk

 Red-tailed Hawk

 Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

I've received several emails asking me whether Western Red-tailed Hawks in their first adult plumage have multiple tail bands, whereas older adults have unbanded tails. I asked where that notion came from? It turns out it's published in the 2008 Pyle guide. I wish it were that easy, but the truth is that tail patterns of adult Red-tails of every age vary from being completely banded to unbanded. Before we look at examples of this, let’s dissect the issue. First, I'm curious how this was determined? What specimens or live birds were reviewed? There are millions of Red-tails out there, so a very large sample size from a broad geographic range is required to make such a statement. Is this proposed tail pattern true for dark and light-morph birds? How about males and females? Why were the other races/types of Red-tail that show tail bands not treated or commented on? Also, can we review the study birds to fact-check the identifications to race, or was that assumed? These type of questions should be posed for any study. The statement about tail bands just seems arbitrary and poorly researched. If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it's to question things you read or hear until fact-checked, as there are inaccuracies in literature that have been propagated over the years, even in texts written by the 'top experts.' It is impossible to reach the entire birding community to fix a mistake once it's published. Everyone makes mistakes, but I find it irresponsible when authors publish theories and assumptions as fact that results in misinformation ingested by the birding community and thereafter very difficult to purge. Have you ever discussed an ID with someone where you had facts to support your stance, but their stance was "so-and-so said so?" I hope the younger generation of birders gets on-board with taking the time to research things properly and publish only what is supported with real data and verifiable examples.

I think it's the responsibility of all birders to share information if it corrects an error. However, it's also requisite to be absolute before attempting to challenge literature. A friend sent me a few excerpts from the Red-tailed Hawk section of the Pyle Guide and I was horrified at the misinformation in there -- to see so numerous mistakes in one species account is alarming! If one of North America’s commonest birds is poorly treated, I cringe to think of the validity of the other species accounts. Here's one I wasn't even aware was in the Pyle guide: http://jerryliguori.blogspot.com/2013/07/wing-molt-in-raptors.html. I will address the inaccuracies in Red-tailed Hawk section in various blog posts since there is not enough room here to do it, as well as problems with other raptor species throughout Pyle's Guide so birders are aware of them. Hawk banders especially need to use caution since they are responsible for the data they submit to the BBL. If you smell a rat, "Unknown" for age/sex is proper and always acceptable.

Check out these Red-tails in their first adult plumage (labeled 2nd-year) that lack multiple tail bands, and various others at least one year older (labeled After-2nd-year) with obvious tail bands…and thanks for reading. By the way, if you want to age Red-tailed Hawks correctly, note either retained juvenile feathers (preferably flight feathers) for SY/TY, or 2 generations of adult feathers for ASY/ATY. Sometimes it is possible to age buteos as 3rd or 4th-year in fall, but that is difficult without extensive practice, and sometimes inaccurate in certain cases. Eye color can be helpful as a hint (and does match up well on the birds below), but NEVER takes the place of flight feather ages. And remember, NEVER age adult Red-tailed Hawks based on presence/absence of tail bands! 

 2nd-year

  2nd-year

  2nd-year

  2nd-year

  2nd-year

  2nd-year

  2nd-year

  2nd-year

 2nd-year

 After-2nd-year

 After-2nd-year

 At least 8 years old (known nester)

 After-2nd-year

 After-3rd-year (aged after January 1st)

 At least 12 years old (known nester)

 At least 11 years old (known year-round resident)

 At least 6 years old (known nester)

 After-2nd-year

 After-2nd-year

 After-2nd-year

 After-2nd-year

 After-2nd-year

 After-2nd-year

This is in regards to a minor aspect of raptor ID. Use wing tip to tail tip ratio on perched birds with CAUTION. It can be helpful at times of course, but is often unreliable for several reasons. Let me re-state that: it can be misleading. There are many factors that make this ID feature variable. Young buteos (especially Red-tails) have longer tails than adults (besides the natural variation in tail length of individuals), birds perch differently in trees than on power poles, or the ground, or on rocks, etc. They also lean forward in the wind, or hold their wings differently than normal when wet, tired, or ready to take off. There are other factors as well, but I'm not going to name all of them.

Anyway, never ID a buteo based on this feature solely, and NEVER EVER identify the race of a Red-tail based on this feature alone…you will be wrong as often as right, and it will have been luck if you are correct anyway!!! Besides, there are way more reliable field marks to use when telling perched birds apart. I'm not saying to never use this trait, its just the very last thing you should look at. I know wing tip to tail tip ratio has been verbalized a million times over the years, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't question it. In fact, question everything you hear or read when it comes to bird ID, because I can tell you with certainty that there are a ton of errors in the literature, and inaccuracies perpetuated out loud by the every-day birder. I tell people all the time, regardless of what I say about raptors, research it for yourself to really understand it or see if its true.

Check out these birds just to note their posture and where the wing tips fall in relation to the tail tip. Especially on the first 3 birds, which are Red-tailed Hawks

 Red-tailed Hawk

 Red-tailed Hawk

 Red-tailed Hawk

Rough-legged Hawk

Ferruginous Hawk

 Northern Harrier

 Prairie Falcon

Red-shouldered Hawk