Birds of Prey of the East: A Field Guide

297 Pages·2018·22.47 MB·English

by  Brian K. Wheeler

Birds of Prey of the East
A Field Guide
Illustrations and Text
by Brian K. Wheeler
Range maps researched by
John Economidy and Brian K. Wheeler
and produced by John Economidy
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
PRINCETON AND OXFORD
Copyright © 2018 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press,
41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press,
6 Oxford Street, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1TR
press.princeton.edu
cover artwork
Bald Eagle, adult: Our national symbol and stately member of the order Accipitriformes, which, since
2012, includes all diurnal raptors, except falcons and vultures. Tis impressive species historically sufered
heavily from habitat loss, persecution, lead poisoning, and especially DDT. Afer DDT was banned in the
U.S. in 1972 the eagle population rebounded—dramatically—and is still growing rapidly, although lead
poisoning is still an issue. Tey were taken of the Endangered Species List in the contiguous 48
states in June 2007.
All photographs were taken by the author unless individually credited
All Rights Reserved
ISBN (pbk.) 978-0-691-11706-5
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017948965
British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available
Tis book has been composed in Minion Pro and Myriad Pro
Printed on acid-free paper. ∞
Printed in China
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To my wife, Lisa,
and my son, Garrett,
with all my love
A special thank you to
Ned and Linda Harris
In memory of Joe Harrison and
Wayne Johnston
Contents
List of Plates . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Acknowledgments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Taxonomy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Book Format . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Key to Maps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Identifying Birds of Prey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Anatomy and Plumage Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Anatomy and Plumage Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Age Classifcation and Molt Stages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
In-Flight Field-Visible Wing and Tail Molt Plate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
Species Accounts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Florida-Only Species and Subspecies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232
Western Species and Subspecies Tat Are
Casual or Accidental in the East . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284
Abbreviations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295
List of Plates
Plate 1. Black Vulture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Plate 2. Turkey Vulture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Plate 3. Osprey (typical and “Ridgway”) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
Plate 4. Swallow-tailed Kite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
Plate 5. Mississippi Kite, juvenile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Plate 6. Mississippi Kite, 1-year-old and adult . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
Plate 7. Northern Harrier, perching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Plate 8. Northern Harrier, fying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Plate 9. Sharp-shinned Hawk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Plate 10. Cooper’s Hawk, juvenile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Plate 11. Cooper’s Hawk, 1-year-old and adult . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Plate 12. Northern Goshawk, juvenile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Plate 13. Northern Goshawk, 1-year-old and adult . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Plate 14. Red-shouldered Hawk (“Eastern” and “Southern”), juveniles . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Plate 15. Red-shouldered Hawk (“Eastern” and “Southern”),
1-year-olds and adults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Plate 16. Broad-winged Hawk, juvenile . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Plate 17. Broad-winged Hawk, 1-year-old and adult . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Plate 18. Swainson’s Hawk, juvenile and 1-year-old, perching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Plate 19. Swainson’s Hawk, juvenile and 1-year-old, fying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106
Plate 20. Swainson’s Hawk, adult, perching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108
Plate 21. Swainson’s Hawk, adult, fying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Plate 22. Red-tailed Hawk (“Eastern” and “Krider’s”), juveniles, perching . . . . . . 114
Plate 23. Red-tailed Hawk (“Eastern” and “Krider’s”), juveniles, fying . . . . . . . . . . 116
Plate 24. Red-tailed Hawk (“Eastern” and “Krider’s”),
1-year-olds and adults, perching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Plate 25. Red-tailed Hawk (“Eastern” and “Krider’s”),
1-year-olds and adults, fying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
Plate 26. Red-tailed Hawk (“Western”), juvenile, perching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
Plate 27. Red-tailed Hawk (“Western”), juvenile, fying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 124
Plate 28. Red-tailed Hawk (“Western”), 1-year-old and adult, perching . . . . . . . . . 126
Plate 29. Red-tailed Hawk (“Western”), 1-year-old and adult, fying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Plate 30. Red-tailed Hawk (“Harlan’s”), juvenile, perching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
Plate 31. Red-tailed Hawk (“Harlan’s”), juvenile, fying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
Plate 32. Red-tailed Hawk (“Harlan’s”), 1-year-old and adult, perching . . . . . . . . . 134
Plate 33. Red-tailed Hawk (“Harlan’s”), 1-year-old and adult, fying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Plate 34. Red-tailed Hawk (albinos and other variants), adults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
6
LIST OF PLATES
Plate 35. Rough-legged Hawk, juvenile, perching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Plate 36. Rough-legged Hawk, juvenile, fying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Plate 37. Rough-legged Hawk, 1-year-old and adult, perching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166
Plate 38. Rough-legged Hawk, 1-year-old and adult, fying (ventral view) . . . . . . 168
Plate 39. Rough-legged Hawk, 1-year-old and adult, fying (dorsal view) . . . . . . . 170
Plate 40. Bald Eagle, head portraits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Plate 41. Bald Eagle, perching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 176
Plate 42. Bald Eagle, fying (ventral view) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178
Plate 43. Bald Eagle, fying (dorsal view) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180
Plate 44. Bald Eagle, tails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
Plate 45. Golden Eagle, perching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Plate 46. Golden Eagle, fying (ventral view) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
Plate 47. Golden Eagle, fying (dorsal view) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Plate 48. Golden Eagle, tails . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Plate 49. American Kestrel (“American” and “Southeastern”) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Plate 50. Merlin (“Taiga”) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206
Plate 51. Gyrfalcon, juvenile, perching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210
Plate 52. Gyrfalcon, juvenile, fying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Plate 53. Gyrfalcon, adult, perching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214
Plate 54. Gyrfalcon, adult, fying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 216
Plate 55. Peregrine Falcon (“Arctic”) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220
Plate 56. Peregrine Falcon (“Anatum”) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 222
Plate 57. Peregrine Falcon (“Peale’s”) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224
Plate 58. Peregrine Falcon (non-native subspecies) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226
Plate 59. White-tailed Kite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234
Plate 60. Snail Kite, perching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 238
Plate 61. Snail Kite, fying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 240
Plate 62. Red-shouldered Hawk (“South Florida”) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 244
Plate 63. Short-tailed Hawk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 248
Plate 64. Red-tailed Hawk (“Florida”) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 252
Plate 65. Crested Caracara . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256
Plate 66. Ferruginous Hawk, juvenile, perching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 262
Plate 67. Ferruginous Hawk, juvenile, fying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264
Plate 68. Ferruginous Hawk, adult, perching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
Plate 69. Ferruginous Hawk, adult, fying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268
Plate 70. Merlin (“Richardson’s”) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272
Plate 71. Prairie Falcon . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 276
Plate 72. Zone-tailed Hawk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280
7
Preface
Tis book is a culmination of data and knowledge from over 50 years of painting birds
and studying raptors.
Te journey began when I was seven years old, when I earnestly started drawing
birds and mammals, frst on old canvas pieces, then on cardboard, and then on white
watercolor paper with transparent watercolor paint. Later, I used the thicker opaque
watercolor medium called gouache. Tis paint allowed me to paint on surfaces other
than white paper. Gouache also allows more detail than transparent watercolor. Since
the 1980s, all paintings have been done on variously colored 100 percent rag, acid-free
mat boards, which brought more atmosphere to my developing style of painting.
An innate desire to replicate realism motivated me even at that early age. My frst
watercolor paintings of wildlife date back to age 12, and I sold my frst painting when
I was 14. Painting wildlife and especially birds was my passion, and I drew or painted
every day. By my early 20s, I concentrated mainly on birds and only rarely painted
mammals (a life-size Red Fox in the snow was one of my favorites among the last
mammals I painted—and the largest mammal I painted life-size).
My late teens and 20s were spent learning bird anatomy. I spent much time with
waterfowl hunters and preparing road- and window-killed specimens for museums,
frst for Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Mich., and later for Yale
University’s Peabody Museum, New Haven, Conn. I have always “constructed” my bird
fgures based on my anatomy studies rather than by copying photographs, though I
have always used photos as references, especially for accurate color of feshy areas and
proportions—especially later for fight images. Te only photography I did at the time
was of close-ups of the heads and feet of freshly collected waterfowl to capture fresh
coloration. Most of my time was spent doing a massive amount of feld sketching of
birds using a spotting scope.
I was naturally inspired by the impressive life-size works of John James Audubon.
Even though his fgures were anatomically distorted and stylized, he was a highly
skilled technician. Te exquisite paintings of Louis Agassiz Furetes (in Birds of America,
Doubleday & Co., 1936 [especially plates 43–52]) inspired me for many years. J. F.
Landsdowne, the awesome bird painter from British Columbia, Canada, impressed
me the most, with his super-realistic, close-focus vignette bird illustrations. Tough
much diferent from what I do, the full-background, mood-laden shorebird paintings
by Robert Verity Clem are incredible.
At 20, I moved from Michigan to Connecticut to attend the Paier School of Art
(now Paier College of Art). I selected this school because it had a strong culture of
realism and superbly talented instructors. I was self-taught in my preferred medium
of gouache, which I started using crudely in my early painting career. When I got to
art school, I was told—in so many words—I was not using gouache in the “proper
method.” Other paint mediums and aspects of art were of course explored, but gouache
suited my style, and I perfected my “improper” painting method even more. Afer two
Assateague Island National Seashore, Worcester Co., Md. (Oct.)
A juvenile “Arctic” Peregrine Falcon rests on a dune afer a successful shorebird hunt. Highly migratory,
this subspecies passes mainly through the East in its fall migration (see Fig.1, p. 229).
8
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