• Amy Yampanis
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  • Added 15 Apr 2012
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Anybody got the number for a good butcher?

Photo of a yearling female Red-tailed hawk TRYING to dismantle her catch... and having a very hard time of it. Several times she kept giving the meal a look like she wanted a butcher to help her with pulling it apart. She obviously is a skilled hunter (based on size and clearly well fleshed out) but still needed to learn how to better dismantle the food.

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Karen Helsing 16 Apr 2012

How cute! I have a feeling she's the bird's equivelent of a teenager. The teen years are awkward years for us human beings!

Artist Reply: You are exactly right. She is the bird equivalent of a teenager. she is at least one full year old, but less than three. Red-tailed hawks do not get their red tail until they are full, breeding-able adults which doesn't happen until at least year three, sometimes year four. (if you notice, her tail is a cream color with very dark barring on it. I did an extensive search trying to identify what bird this was, though my gut screamed it was a red-tailed hawk, based on coloring of everything but the tail, and size.... but I had never heard that they didn't get their red tails once full sized. It actually took me emailing a photo of her to a raptor specialist to confirm it was a red-tailed hawk and to explain why it wasn't red)

Brenda Loveless 15 Apr 2012

another great shot...poor baby!

Sharon Gonzalez 15 Apr 2012

WHAT A FABULOUS SHOT, AMY.

Warren Ballard 15 Apr 2012

Excellent catch!

Aqua1955 15 Apr 2012

They are seldom captured inside a photograph in the cirkel of life... Great shot!!