!!! A white Red-tail from Iowa USA
December 18, 2010 - International, National and Local News
CPF Postmaster Reports:
With a big thank you to Jack Textor from Iowa, for sending us some of his shots of a white Red-tail hawk that he photographed earlier in December on one of his outings. Spotted and photographed in Des Moines, Iowa on December 18, 2010. Initially believed to be a Gyrfalcon, a closer inspection of the photos told a much different story. While not a true albino, (as his the eyes are not pink), this adult male Red-tail is never-the-less mostly all white in colour with the exceptions of a few black and brown feathers that are only visible when the bird is in flight.
What makes this bird more rarer than not, is the fact that he has survived to adulthood and so far continues to prosper. As you might imagine, being all white, living and hunting in the usual Red-tail habitats, being all white is not to your benefit, as both concealment from other larger avian and mammalian predators, and stealthy hunting would not be an easy task.
To survive to adulthood (and on wards), is quite an accomplishment. We will be interested if Jack will continue to follow this guy and send us future updates on his progress over the next months.
