Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Moroccan Hawk ID

Terence Clark has been in Morocco for the Festival of Traditional Hunting, where he photographed some hawks. Most were Peregrines of the migrant race that they call Shahin Bari, "Bari" meaning "of the sea"-- probably the far- northern Falco peregrinus calidus, which may have flown from as far as Siberia.

But the young man on the right in the second pic has what Paul Domski rightly calls "an immature, a somewhat odd Accipiter". At a quick drive by it looks like a Gos, but its skinny bottle shoulders and longish head and legs and even neck don't look quite right even for a small male-- and in relation to the Peregrine, it doesn't look that small, nor are calidus small Peregrines. I thought to check the not- quite - Accipiters Melierax, the "Chanting goshawks", one species of which does live in Morocco, but all add barred rather than pale bellies,

Surely this is something Q's readership can solve. I know, it is probably just a Gos sitting funny. But Paul and I have seen and flown a lot of Gosses-- he has at least two these days.

Right or double click to enlarge for detail-- these are big.


5 comments:

Matt Mullenix said...

Always a weird feeling as a falconer when you find you can't even place a hawk to genus.... But I wonder if that's not a euro buzzard?

Matt Mullenix said...

Got it: Buteo rufinus, the Long-legged Buzzard

http://www.birdphoto.fi/lajikuvat/kuvahtml/9butruf144.html

Andrea said...

I don't know what it is, but agreed, it's got the euro buzzard look. It didn't really strike me as an accipiter... head is too big

Rehan said...

Can the word be 'Bahri' instead of 'Bari'? Buzzards were called 'Bahri' in India.

I agree it looks a long-legged buzzard to me.

Rehan said...

One correction in my previous comment - 'Bahri/Bhyri was the comman name for Peregrine Falcons in India.'