TROPIC and NEAR-TROPIC BIRD COLLECTION

Sharp-shinned Hawk Sharp-shinned Hawk- Accipter striatus Sharp-shined Hawk, Accipter striatus, Order Falconiformes, Family Accipitridae, Subfamily Accipitrinae. This beautiful bird was hunting in the woods behind my house in Hamilton, Ohio. I was confused as to the ID of this bird. So, I asked Casy Tucker to confirm the ID. He said " It's a 1st year bird, and there are two characteristics that tell you that it's a Sharp-shinned hawk. The first is the head. It has a relatively rounded head,as opposed to the Cooper's really "blocky" head (for lack of a better description). The second character is the breast patterning. Notice on the photo of your bird that it has really large, brown, "splotches" on its breast. If it were a Cooper's hawk those brown patterns would be thinner streaks, or lines." Thanks Casey! A Cornell Website that helps with tricky bird ids: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/pfw/AboutBirdsandFeeding/accipiterIDtable.htm Photo: Nov 26, 2004, Handheld, Canon EOS 1D Mark II digital camera with 500mm f/4.0 L IS lens and and 1.4X TC ) For More Species Info: http://www.birds.cornell.edu/programs/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Sharp-shinned_Hawk.html

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Photos Copyright R. Hays Cummins. Authorization required. For permission, contact hays@environment-education-press.org

Sources of species identification and other amazing info include (1) Cornell Lab of Ornithology--a fantastic site; (2)Birds of Eastern and Central North America, Peterson Field Guide Series, Fifth Edition, Houghton Mifflin Company; (3) The National Audubon Society's Sibley Guide to Birds and (4) Field Guide to the Birds of North America, Third Edition, National Geographic, Washington, D.C.