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Subject:

Retraction: Swainson's Hawk, Blackwater, 1/17/09

From:

"Kurt R. Schwarz"

Reply-To:

Kurt R. Schwarz

Date:

Sat, 24 Jan 2009 13:36:02 -0500

It appears that I was mistaken last Saturday.  The Perils of Plumage, 
Structure is Supreme!

As I think I may have mentioned, the white-belly speckled with dark streaks 
topped by a dark bib led me to believe that it was an immature Swainson's. 
However, any time you're pasting two images in a field guide together should 
give one pause, though the variability of Buteos could make anything 
possible.  I really began to question my ID when I perused the pictures in 
Wheeler's Raptors of Eastern North America.  Frankly, none seemed to 
resemble the immature images given in Sibley, in particular the dark bib we 
saw.  It was only after paging through Wheeler and Clark, A Photographic 
Guide to North American Raptors that I found a immature Bald Eagle with 
streaked, white belly (pg. 121).  This photo, in fact, shows pretty much 
what we saw.   Sibley does illustrate this, however, the picture has some 
white on the head, which our bird lacked.

I still cannot reconcile the apparent small size, as I did not seem it was 
much further away.  But the generally hulking nature of the bird, the FLAT 
back part of the crown, the bulbous bill, all should have clued me.

Phil, please ashcan that report and save the Committee time!

Kurt Schwarz
HowCo
goawaybird now at verizon dot net