Florida Red-shouldered?!

 

These images, taken by Deborah Humphries at York River State Park on May 5th,  appear to show an adult "Florida" Red-shouldered Hawk, a sub-species that I don't think has been recorded in Virginia. There are records of this sub-species in eBird from Pennsylvania and Massachusetts, in April and May, so rare wandering does occur. It normally stays within the Florida peninsula, unlike other Red-shouldereds which often migrate long distances.

Unlike the richly-colored Red-shouldereds we see in Virginia, "Floridas" or extimus are extremely pale above and below and are strikingly whitish on the head, as seen here. Another interesting feature is the shortish tail, apparently still growing in, probably indicating a different molting pattern for this southern sub-species.

The color pattern looks just right to me for extimus, which I've seen, so not an abnormally pale individual of our usual Virginia birds. Comments are welcome and may be sent to taberzz@aol.com.

Brian Taber