Look for Chocolate-brown above and pure white below, the osprey is armed with long, pale green legs and grappling-hook talons for seizing fish. Fierce yellow eyes are ringed in black, making the bird look as though it is wearing aviator’s goggles. A banded gray tail and ragged crest complete this gangly bird’s unusual look. Females […]
Care must be taken to differentiate the Cooper’s hawk from the similar sharp-shinned hawk. Adults of both species have similar markings, as do their brown-backed immatures and that of the northern goshawk (larger birds rarely seen south of Virginia, Indiana, and Missouri). Size is often not a trustworthy identification tool in the field—proportions and tail
There is no confusing the adult bald eagle, with its huge size and gleaming white head and tail. The raptor does not attain adult plumage until after the third year. Until then, immature birds are dark brown with varying degrees of white mottling on their backs, wings, bellies, and, in older birds, heads. Depending upon
