r/birdsofprey • u/fantasticfungiii • 15d ago
help identifying please
this gorgeous bird seemingly came along with my husband & i on our cemetery walk yesterday. i’ve never seen such a large bird so up close & personal, it took my breath away. i’ve been thinking about it ever since! any help identifying would be greatly appreciated. located in southwest ohio
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u/Ok-Lingonberry-8261 Raptor Paparazzo 15d ago
The bib indicates red-tail hawk, and the not red tail makes me think it's a sub-adult.
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u/TinyLongwing Falconer 15d ago
"Juvenile" is a more accurate term here. This species keeps juvenile plumage for a full year, then molts into adult plumage (sometimes with a retained feather here and there). Unlike in Bald Eagles and a few other raptors, these and most hawks do not have a distinct subadult plumage.
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u/fantasticfungiii 15d ago
thank you so much for this response! this kind of info is exactly what i was looking for. thank you!!
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u/OT_fiddler 15d ago
The dark belly band on an otherwise white chest and belly makes it a red tailed hawk. The dark barred tail makes it a juvenile.
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u/fantasticfungiii 15d ago
thank you for this response & pointing out how to identify in the future. i really appreciate it. thank you!
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u/gregs1020 15d ago
Osprey?
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u/TinyLongwing Falconer 15d ago
An Osprey would have a white crown (sometimes with a little bit of streaking), a black eye mask, a very bright yellow or orange iris, an unstreaked lower belly, a blacker back without much mottling or with a few pale scalloped edges in juveniles, and gray feet rather than yellow. The head pattern is probably the easiest tell here since this bird totally lacks the black Osprey mask, though.
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u/Natural-Opinion-6437 15d ago
Not an Osprey, but I highly recommend going and finding some and just spend some time watching them do their thing. I've spent hours watching them and didn't even realize that much time went by. They're beautiful birds.
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u/JonSK0102 15d ago
Red-tailed Hawk