Pat Kiewicz wrote:
songbird said:
songbird wrote:

you'd ever expect to see chasing and eating
grasshoppers?
...

the movies didn't turn out well (using
zoom i need a tripod), but some pictures did:

http://www.anthive.com/flowers/100_8...er_Hunting.jpg
http://www.anthive.com/flowers/100_8248_Harrier_BB.jpg

i think it could be a juvenile Northern Harrier
(or a Hen Harrier), which are not particularly
rare, but this is the first time we've had one
wandering around the yard for the day.


I don't think that's a harrier. Going by the 'belly band'
it's more likely a juvenile red tail hawk.

when a Red-Tail hawk poops does it flip it's
butt up?


Harrier's have a 'facial disc' something like an owl has;
they use sound as well a sight while hunting, usually
over marshland or open fields, staying barely above the
grass tops.

when we first saw it from a distance we
thought it was an owl, when it looked right
at you it had the look of an owl, then we
got a closer look at it and it had to be a
hawk.

the reason i'm guessing it is a Harrier is
that the picture in the guide i'm using
(Audubon North American Birds) shows the Red-
Tailed hawk as having pale yellow legs with
fuzz coming down further (no picture of the
feet). the Harrier picture shows yellow feet
and legs and the fuzz not quite as far down.
But i will also admit i'm not an expert in
bird ID...


Grasshoppers are on lots of menus (including human).
Many species of raptors will dine on grasshoppers some
ofthe time. (Swainson's hawks dine almost exclusively on
grasshoppers on their winter range in South America.)

it surprised me. i thought they were
entirely carnivore and possibly scavengers
if needed in the winter.


songbird