Help Identify This Bird!

[Geeeyejo]

Hi All,
Was shopping with the wife and kids in NJ today and scoped this bird on top of the roof of the strip mall. Looks like a hawk or falcon - was pretty big -maybe 18 inches head to feet - unfortunately didn't get a shot when he flew off. We aren't near any hills or mountains (old bridge by the bay) never seen one of these guys here before!
Anyone know the bird?

[Turbowolf]

Looks like it may be a Red-shouldered Hawk, but not positive as I cannot see the tail structure or coloration.

If it had a narrowly banded tail, then I'd say 100% positive ... it's a distingushing feature.

[PacAce]

Or, it could be a red-tailed hawk which is very common around these parts (NJ & PA).

[robertwgross]

I always assume that it is a red-tailed hawk unless I can prove otherwise, since red-tails are so common to most of North America. I don't think it is a red-shouldered hawk, as they tend to have a more solidly brown or rust breast plumage. Getting a shot of the tail or the back is sometimes helpful.

---Bob Gross---

[CyberDyneSystems]

Yep, Red tailed would be my assumption as well.

[PacAce]

Here are two shots of a juvenile red-tailed hawk I took outside my office window. This hawk was sitting on the window ledge and looking in.

[Oops. Forgot to sharpen the image. Oh, well. I just posted it up for comparison with the other photos above anyway. :) ]

[Turbowolf]

guess I need to buy a better bird ID book....


Dave

[CyberDyneSystems]

Also,
http://images.fotopic.net/?iid=yy937i&outx=980&oq=0&original=1&noresize=1&nostamp=1
http://images.fotopic.net/?iid=yykqm3&outx=800&oq=0&original=1&noresize=1&nostamp=1
http://images.fotopic.net/?iid=yfg5rh&outx=500&oq=0&original=1&noresize=1&nostamp=1


All three pics the same pair of redtails of the course of about three years.

[robertwgross]

From what I have seen, in this entire thread every photo is of a red-tailed hawk in one form or another. There is a lot of variation, however.

Red-shouldered hawks (Buteo lineatus) are decidedly different. Red-shouldered has breast plumage that is 80-90% brown or cinnamon, almost solid. Average weight is 1.4 pounds.

Red-tailed (Buteo jamaicensis) has breast plumage that is 10-40% brown or rust, which is mostly white with minor brown or rust spots. Average weight is 2.4 pounds. That's a big size difference.

Discussion of habitat gets kind of weird, because for several years, "Pale Male" was the famous red-tail that lived next to Central Park in Manhattan. It nested four or five stories up on the side of a building and dined on pigeon du jour.

---Bob Gross---