Verification of Unusual Sight Record
For Utah

Rec. # 2023-02


Common name:

Red-shouldered Hawk

Scientific name: Buteo lineatus
Date: 12/29/2022
Time: 4:20 PM
Length of time observed: 15 minutes
Number: 1
Age: Adult
Sex:  
Location: St. George (River Road/Boulder Springs Rd)
County: Washington
Latilong: 37.0797584, -113.5536113
Elevation:  
Distance to bird:  ~12-15 m
Optical equipment: 8x42 binoculars and 500 mm lens
Weather: Overcast, low 40s
Light Conditions: Fading, but adequate for viewing at fairly close range
Description:        Size of bird: Mid-sized Buteo
(Description:)       Basic Shape: Hawk
(Description:)  Overall Pattern: Orange, brown, black,
(Description:)            Bill Type: Hooked, sharp
(Description:)                              
Field Marks and
Identifying Characteristics:
Observed during the St. George Christmas Bird Count. First observed by my dad, John Schijf, about 30 minutes prior to my observation, but we returned to the area together and found it in the same general location. It was perched on a light pole directly above River Road (a busy main road in St. George). After watching for about 10-15 minutes, it flew and landed on the chimney of a nearby residence.

Field notes based on memory and referring to my photos:
Medium-sized Buteo. Solid orange upper-breast, transitioning to orange/white horizontal barring below (mostly orange) with paler belly. Brown head, dark bill, yellow cere. Upper-parts mostly brownish with contrasting white feather edging. Bold black and white mottled wings. Areas of rusty-brown on wing coverts and rusty shoulder patches. Fairly short wings and long tail projection (compared with other, more common Buteos). Banded tail, with thick black bands and thin white bands, and a thin white tip.
(see photos)
Song or call & method of delivery: Silent
Behavior: Perched, then flew a short distance and perched again.
Habitat: Residential
Similar species and how
were they eliminated:
Elimination: Red-tailed Hawk: A larger Buteo. Structurally with longer wings and shorter tail than RSHA. Plumage very variable, but never showing blotchy black and white pattern of wings, and extent of white on back. Juvenile would show much narrower tail bands than RSHA.

Cooper's Hawk: Similar color to underparts, and more similar overall to RSHA than to other common Buteos. But very different in many ways, including a longer tail and shorter wings, more slender overall. Also, completely different head color/pattern, and color/pattern to upper-parts.

Broad-winged Hawk: Smaller than RSHA, with paler underparts, solid brownish upperparts, paler throat, and would be extremely unusual in Utah during winter.
Previous experience with
this & similar species:
Red-shouldered Hawk: I have seen this species twice previously in Utah and 10-15(ish) times in California, including in November when I observed several and photographed one at close range in San Luis Obispo.
Red-tailed Hawk: Very common, observed frequently.
Cooper's Hawk: Very Common, observed frequently.
Broad-winged Hawk: Limited experience, with one prior observation.
References consulted: None needed for ID, but referred to Sibley app and 'Birds of the World' Online when compiling this report
Description from: From memory
From photo(s) taken at the time of the sighting
Observer: Mike Schijf
Observer's address: Ivins, UT
Observer's e-mail address: **
Other observers who independently identified this bird: John Schijf (original observer)
Date prepared: 1/6/2023
Additional material: Photos
Additional comments: