This morning I observed a dark buteo perched in our yard off Nebo road north of Boulder. It later flew off to the northwest toward US 36.
Dark head, including lores, forehead, auriculars, but WHITE back crown. Back dark chocolate brown. Upper tail all dark, under tail pale, no apparent banding upper or lower. All dark underbody. Relatively small bill. Not able to see legs well when perched. View in flight obstructed by trees, but underwing coverts dark with strong contrast with light remiges. I'd appreciate any comments about identification. It looked much like the Plate 494 in Wheelers Western Raptors of a juvenile dark morph rough-legged hawk, but the features also are like some Harlan’s. The head pattern was particularly striking, not matching any description of either species that I found. If it hangs around, other observers may be able to make a better identification. Alan Bell, Boulder -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
