Dark phase hawk

[thouc]

I saw this dark phase Buteo hawk in Florida. Any ideas?

[Canoncan]

I cannot see if the tail is striped, Dark Broad-winged hawks are rare on the eastern portion of their range, as would be a dark Harlan's, could be a Short-tailed Hawk where the majority of the Florida birds are Dark Morph, but I am not 100%

[thouc]

The tail has a dark terminal band and no other major dark bands, so that would rule out Broad-winged Hawk (several dark bands) and Harlan's Red-tailed Hawk (all-white tail) as far as I can tell. That leaves us with Short-tailed Hawk and Rough-legged Hawk, which would be very rare, but there are a few records from central Florida on eBird. The bird was flying (possibly migrating) with Turkey Vultures, and my impression of the size was that it wasn't that much smaller, which would fit better with a Rough-legged Hawk. If I had seen it in Ontario I would definitely say Rough-legged.

/Thomas

[Canoncan]

Certainly a possibility especially based on size

[thouc]

It is a Short-tailed Hawk, which is a new lifer for me, according to the eBird reviewer in the area.

[Canoncan]

That is great news for you. All my  years spending time there, I have yet to see one

[thouc]

Yes, I was lucky to see one and get a photo of it, otherwise it wouldn't have been identified.

Thanks for you input.