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Project Noah Nature School
Parabuteo unicinctus
Captive hawk. Used by my school to keep Seagulls away after lunch break.
Yes...you are correct that it is a captive animal. At the school where I teach this beautiful creature is our deterrent for seagulls. After lunch there is often a large amount of trash left over and this "Hawk" comes to fly around and keep the seagulls away. By the way...our mascot is a Falcon...so that's why I assumed it was a falcon.
Plus I don't believe there has been any reports of Black Hawks this far north in California
Although Karen's right that it's not a Falcon, c.o. carver's right in that it's a Harris's Hawk, not a Black Hawk. They are similar, both related to the Buteos, but belong to different genera. Harris's Hawk have the white vent feathers this bird shows, as well as the white tail bands; Black Hawk only have white on the tail. Additionally, Harris's Hawk have the reddish-brown coloration that Black Hawk doesn't show.
Technically this is not a "falcon", but a hawk. If you want to get a bit more technical, it is categorized as a "buteo", a hawk specially-built for effortless soaring, with those broad wings and fanned tail. Not much flapping is needed for efficient flight. A falcon will have narrow, angled wings, and a narrower tail- built for speed rather than soaring. Falcons do much rapid flapping before they hit that breath-taking dive! Very nice photo, btw!
Spotted on Mar 7, 2013
Submitted on Apr 9, 2013
