Bird Identification: Help Identify Please Part 1, 1 by slobird

slobird wrote:
Ah, this is a Swainson's Hawk based on three characteristics. The first one is subtle, if you look at the photo closely, you can see the white throat patch which characterizes a Swainson's. Then next two id thoughts are mostly consistent for both species of raptors given that both have a light phase and dark phase (and everything in between). Red-tailed's have a mottled belly band, which this bird does not. Second, Red-tailed's have a mottled back and upper surface of the wing. This bird is all brown with no mottling which is consistent with a Swainson's.

If a light phase bird is a "1" and a dark phase bird is a "10", I would rank this bird as a "4" leaning a little to the light-phase side.

I have attached a photo of a bird I photographed this summer in Montana north of Billings. It too is an intermediate phase, but I would give it "5 - 6".

Thanks!