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Subject:

Possible Krider's, or else leucistic RTHA in PG

From:

Jeff Shenot

Reply-To:

Jeff Shenot

Date:

Mon, 1 May 2006 12:10:33 -0400

I hesitate to post this, but I may have seen a Krider’s subspecies of Red-
tailed Hawk (RTHA) on Saturday, and amazingly, again on Sunday.  The 
sightings were about one mile apart in Prince George’s Co, but the plumage 
is so distinct it had to be the same bird.  On Saturday afternoon I was 
doing some Atlasing on Western Branch in Bristol CW, and found an unusual 
buteo perched in a tree along a forested floodplain below Upper Marlboro.  
I am usually confidant with raptor identification, especially when I have 
a good view.  But with only a frontal view of this bird while it was 
perched I was puzzled at first.  It was SO white, it was very beautiful!   
It was not an albino, since I could see a trace of flecking across the 
belly, with some on the margins of the wings and more on the back of the 
head.  However, when I spooked a Great Blue Heron that was also perched 
nearby, the hawk flushed.  It simply got up, circling and catching the 
steady breeze, which was from the N-NW at 10-15MPH.  I then confirmed it 
was a RTHA and thought it was leucistic; it had a very pale tail but I 
could see faint barring, especially toward the tip.  I never got  a good 
look at its back.   After several loops, I lost sight of it due to the 
foliage blocking my view.  

However, on Sunday I was working in back of my house, in similar habitat, 
and heard an eagle give a call.  When I looked up there were two adults 
and a juvenile bald eagle circling very low.  But I scarcely paid 
attention, because a couple hundred feet above them I saw what appeared to 
be a white buteo!  Luckily I had my bins and got a great view; I think it 
had to be the same bird I saw Saturday.  But this time it flapped its 
wings a little and I saw a slightly better view of the top of its wings, 
which had lots of light and dark brown flecking, and I could also see a 
trace of rusty orange on the top of its tail.  I had no good view of its 
back but could see markings when the bird turned while soaring.  The bird 
soared up high and then trailed off out of sight to the west.

I wondered if it could have a trace of red in the tail if it was 
leucistic, and looked up some images on Google.  The answer is yes.  I saw 
one photo of a leaucistic RTHA with a very dark red tail.  However, 
Krider’s seems to be a better fit, based on the extent of flecking the 
bird had.  If it was only a leucistic eastern RTHA, it was an aberrant 
leucistic based on the extent of flecking!  Though the Krider’s is a 
midwest RTHA subspecies, I wonder if it could have flown off course - do 
they migrate?  I see there have been records of them sighted in Cape May 
NJ.  My guess is a Krider’s, but unless it stays around and gets spotted 
better or photographed I'll never know.

Jeff Shenot
Croom MD