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    Hawks at a Distance: Identification of Migrant Raptors
    Hawks at a Distance: Identification of Migrant Raptors
    Hawks at a Distance: Identification of Migrant Raptors
    Ebook263 pages1 hour

    Hawks at a Distance: Identification of Migrant Raptors

    By Jerry Liguori and Pete Dunne

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    About this ebook

    The ultimate field manual for identifying distant raptors

    The ultimate must-have guide for identifying migrant raptors, Hawks at a Distance is the first volume to focus on distant raptors as they are truly seen in the field. Jerry Liguori, a leading expert on North American raptors, factors in new information and approaches for identifying twenty-nine species of raptor in various lighting situations and settings. The field guide's nineteen full-color portraits, 558 color photos, and 896 black-and-white images portray shapes and plumages for each species from all angles. Useful flight identification criteria are provided and the accompanying text discusses all aspects of in-flight hawk identification, including flight style and behavior. Concentrating on features that are genuinely observable at a distance, this concise and practical field guide is ideal for any aspiring or experienced hawk enthusiast.

    • The first guide to focus on distant raptors as they are viewed in the field
    • New information and approaches for identifying distant raptors
    • Illustrates twenty-nine species in various lighting situations and settings
    • 558 color photos and 896 black-and-white images depicting plumage and shape characteristics
    • All aspects of in-flight hawk identification, including flight style and behavior
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPrinceton University Press
    Release dateMar 14, 2011
    ISBN9781400838264
    Hawks at a Distance: Identification of Migrant Raptors

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      Book preview

      Hawks at a Distance - Jerry Liguori

      2010

      Preface

      Beginner birders are fascinated by how experienced birders can identify distant birds with confidence and accuracy. Their first question is usually what kind of binoculars are those? thinking the binoculars must be a special model that allows birders to see farther and clearer than any other. It is easy to be impressed by the skill of an accomplished birder, but with enough practice anyone can identify distant hawks. Of course, the farther away a bird is, the harder it may be to identify, and some birds are simply too far away to name. When I began watching hawks, I was drawn to the specks in the sky that most birders ignored, and even took pictures of distant raptors with the intent of using them for instruction one day. I wanted to write a book that showed how to identify raptors as they are typically seen in the field. My first book, Hawks From Every Angle, accomplishes this and includes close-up plumage information and aspects of identification that are often confused or misinterpreted in the field. To include every aspect of raptor identification in one book would overwhelm readers and birders in the field. Therefore, Hawks at a Distance focuses on identification of distant raptors in flight. It is like no other identification guide, and fills a niche in the field of identification.

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

      I would like to thank those who helped me to complete this book, especially my wife Sherry, who reviewed the entire book and supplied photographs throughout it. I thank Keith Bildstein and Tony Leukering for their invaluable comments on the text. Thanks also to Aaron Skippy Barna, Vic Berardi, Richard Crossley, Kara Donohue, Pete Dunne, Pete Gustas, Julian Hough, Adam Hutchins, Robert Kirk, Michael O’Brien, John Rokita, Deneb Sandack, David Sibley, Brian Sullivan, Clay and Pat Sutton, Dave Tetlow, and Brian Wheeler.

      Introduction

      Identifying raptors is similar to solving a mystery by piecing together clues. By far, the greatest challenge of raptor identification is naming distant birds. This is because plumage details (and sometimes flight style and structure) can be difficult to judge from afar. Even for the most experienced observers, identifying raptors based on plumage alone can be flawed. With this in mind, imagine how difficult it is to distinguish two species that are practically identical in plumage, like Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks. Even a distinctive plumage trait like the red tail of an adult Red-tailed Hawk can be difficult to view in the field. With practice, it is more accurate to tell similarly plumaged birds apart by shape and flight-style differences than by coloration. I identify most of the distant raptors I see based on shape and flight style, using plumage traits only if clearly visible. Remember, there are exceptions to every rule, so almost no field mark is 100 percent exclusive to one species.

      At any hawk-watching site, a close-up bird will draw oohs and aahs from observers. But because most hawks seen in the field are distant, Hawks at a Distance is a necessary guide. It focuses on distant birds and discusses traits that are truly useful in the field, leaving out certain others that can only be judged at close range. Be aware that some field marks may be difficult to see in the photos in this book. This is done purposely to show how these field marks truly appear in the field. Hawks at a Distance is the first guide that presents birds of unknown identity, pointing out instances when telling age, sex, color morph, or species is impossible, and showing the effect that lighting and molt can have on a bird’s appearance. Only migrants that are common across the United States and Canada are covered. Most of the photographs in this book were taken during autumn migration from August 15 to November 30. Birds photographed during spring migration from March to late May or otherwise are noted as such.

      I am frequently asked which hawk identification problem I believe is the most difficult. Several come to mind, like telling brown Prairie Merlins from female Kestrels at a distance, ageing Golden Eagles to a specific year, telling a Peregrine Falcon from a Prairie Falcon by silhouette, or telling adult female from juvenile Harriers in spring. However, some aspects of identification are simply impossible due to overlap or similarities in plumages, like telling the race of some Red-tailed Hawks, Merlins, or Peregrine Falcons. Remember, it is enjoyable to simply watch raptors without fussing over their age, sex, or race and that learning hawk identification is an ongoing process.

      HOW TO USE THIS BOOK

      Hawks at a Distance is designed to show raptors in real world settings and help with identification of birds seen with only a quick glimpse. Therefore, the birds throughout these pages are meant to appear distant, unlike most guides that present close-up portraits of birds. Hawks at a Distance presents each species in all light conditions. Each color plate is a composite that includes up to six images and a single caption. They are presented this way so that each color plate is viewed in its entirety as the description is read. Throughout the color plates, birds are shown in poses (i.e., soaring, gliding) in which migrants are normally observed. This is intended to stress the shape features referred to in the captions of certain color plates.

      The black-and-white plates portray shape characters for each species pointed out by the accompanying captions. These plates are designed so that the reader’s eyes wander around the page and take in the entire page quickly. The text is short so that it is easy to remember and so that the book is uncluttered. Key identification traits are in boldface throughout the text, and memorizing these traits will prove to be useful in the field. For example, the traits in boldface for Golden Eagle are large, dark bird . . . extremely long, somewhat broad wings . . . dihedral when soaring, slightly bowed when gliding . . . slow moving and steady.

      One of the keys to identifying raptors is to learn the basic characteristics of each species well instead of learning the minutiae for each. For example, recognizing the shapes of each raptor, and understanding how they vary under different circumstances, is much more valuable than knowing the eye color of each raptor. Be aware that certain written or spoken descriptions (particularly regarding wing beat and flight style), and even the same field observation between various people, can be interpreted differently. For instance, I once heard the words stiff, choppy, snappy, and aggressive used independently by four separate observers to describe the wing beats of a single bird as it flew by.

      TERMINOLOGY

      Age Terminology

      Some age-related terms can be misunderstood or misinterpreted. The terms juvenile and adult are fairly straightforward and easy to understand (see Glossary), but the terms immature and sub-adult are sometimes unclear. Even some ornithologists disagree on the exact definitions of these terms. Regardless, the terminology throughout this guide is used in a consistent, practical manner.

      The term immature describes a bird whose plumage is other than adult. Therefore, an immature bird is either a juvenile or a sub-adult. Some argue the term immature relates to a bird’s sexual maturity regardless of its plumage. For instance, a breeding accipiter in juvenile plumage (which is sometimes the case with females) could be regarded as an adult because it is producing young. However, age terminology herein defines a plumage as it pertains to field identification, not a yearly age or sexual maturity.

      The term sub-adult describes a bird whose plumage is a distinct plumage altogether from that of an adult or juvenile. Birds in their first adult plumage (that may have none or several juvenile feathers retained) that are essentially identical or appear identical in the field to successive adult plumages are simply adults. Most raptors reach adulthood after their first molt cycle starting at about one year old. A few species take about two years, while eagles typically take about five years to reach full adult

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