Sighting Record for Utah

Common name:	Red-shouldered Hawk
Scientific name:	Buteo Lineatus
Date:	5 Dec 2000
Time:	9:00 am - 10:00 am
Length of time observed:	1 hour
Number:	1
Age:	Juvenile
Sex:
Location:	Powell Slough
County:	Utah
Latilong:
Elevation:	~4500 ft
Distance to bird:
Optical equipment:
Weather:
Light Conditions:
Detailed description of bird:	Size - Smaller than a Red-tailed Hawk, but larger than a crow. Field guides indicate 17" L & 40" W. Color - Brown head and back. Throat & breast brown, flanks & belly were streaked with brown & kind of white, or off-white. Vent area was white. Tail was black with 4-5 thin white stripes. Wings were mottled with white, but not as distinctively as the field guides show. There wasn't any color (red or rust) on the scapulars or shoulder indicating that it wasn't an adult. There was a translucent pale crescent across wing tips. Flight - The flight was more rapid &direct than a Red-tail. The translucent crescent was very visible in flight. When it flew straight away it flew accipiter-like with rapid wing beats & then a short glide.
Song or call & method of delivery:	None
Behavior:	The hawk flew from one tree to another & landed deep in tree branches rather than on top.
Habitat:	Trees near water. Open area near Powell Slough (a marshy area) on the east side of Utah Lake.
Similar species and how were they eliminated:	Red Tail juvenile - This bird had distinctive tail bands, not thin bands like a Red Tail. Broad-winged Hawk - Tail banding different, & this hawk was larger than a Broad-winged. Not here during winter either.
Previous experience with this & similar species:	Previous experience with this and similar species: I have seen Red-tailed hawk five or six times before in this state and am familiar with both the adult & the juvenile. This was definitely a juvenile Red-shouldered Hawk.
References consulted:
Description from:
Observer:	Merrill Webb
Observer's address:
Observer's e-mail address:
Other observers who independently identified this bird:	Many other observers subsequently located this bird including Matt and Pia DeVries
Date prepared:	5 Dec 2000
Additional material:	Original Document