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Buteo jamaicensis kriderii
I spotted this hawk guarding its prey, an Opossum on highway 100 between Jefferson City and Hermann, MO. Didn't see whether or not the bird capitalized on a roadkill opportunity or captured it.
Spotted on Oct 8, 2012
Submitted on Oct 11, 2012
18 Comments
Spectacular series,
Great shot! unfortunate for the little guy :( natures call!
Wow, amazing capture! (Both the photos and the opossum!) The last picture almost makes him look like a light juvi Swainson's Hawk, but Kriders hawk was my first thought too. About a year ago I photographed what I think is a Krider's too. http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/943...
Either way, you you captured something special, what a beautiful bird!
Nice series...
Great moment capture. Nice spotting
Thank you, Liam, for looking into this for me. I've made the edits!
The experts agree - this is an immature Krider's Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis kriderii).
Great spotting!
Thank you, everyone for your informative input. I came upon this beautiful bird before seeing how he came upon his "prey." I did see him try to lift it a couple feet from the center of the road. And, he was definitely not budging from the opossum. Fortunately for him, there was not much traffic along the way. I doubt the opossum was hit by a vehicle because he appears pretty intact. I suspect the hawk went after him.
Thank you, Christy. I asked because I know that many opossums die hit by cars, and that seemed a good possibility.
Actually, they are very opportunistic and definitely will eat roadkill. It's an easy meal for them! Liam, you've corrected my guess again!! Just when I think I've got it... ;-)
I don't think they eat road kill.....I think he killed it and was to heavy to carry off....ijs I love the pics
In your opinion, Kareen, did the hawk kill the opossum, or is it just enjoying an opportunistic catch? Do hawks feed on dead animals?
Immature Red-tailed Hawk (adults have dark eyes), Buteo jamaicensis. Subspecies is hard to determine, but you are within range for the rare Krider's Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis kriderii). Very very pale individual here. Sibley's states (Krider's) "Underparts white with faint or no belly-band, tail whitish, much white on upperparts, often white-headed."
This individual could be a B.j. borealis, but considering how pale it is, you have a nice candidate for Krider's. If you don't mind, I'll run it through a few friends for extra opinions.
Grandioso buena captura ::
Happened to me once
Ha!! He's not letting that meal go!! Great series!! I do know it's not a Red-Tailed hawk, and I think it's a buteo, not an accipiter, but I don't know for sure!! Fantastic!! I'd love you to add this to the mission Raptors of North America: http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/8627...
I have removed several dead animals from the road and placed them aside, in a safe distance, so that birds of pray won't be killed too...There is a large team of people in Greece doing this, and I am doing the same here in NZ...Hawks don't lose their pray, you just scare them away, you remove the dead animal from the road, and after you go, birds return...