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Sunday, June 10, 2012

Plumulaceous barbs

 Any guesses on who this feather belongs to?

 Found in Sebastopol on 10 June 2012 


Note the plumulaceous barbs at the base of the feather the loose, downy parts that are soft and fluffy.  They aid in insulation.



Our best guess is Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus).  I wish I had better photos of a Red-shouldered Hawk, but here are a couple from our yard in Sebastopol:

Note the black tail feathers with distinct white bands.


Can you find the hawk in the photo below?


This individual was perched very high in a redwood tree.  Below is a zoomed in view.


Red-shouldered Hawks can be seen year-round on Bodega Head, but they are less common than Red-tailed Hawks.
 

1 comment:

Claudia said...

That's what I was going to guess. Red-shouldered hawk. There are those little flecks of reddish brown...

It is just wonderful how you turn a discarded feather into a vocabulary expander. Plumulaceous.It almost sounds like an aboriginal word. Next month, we are going to visit Purnululu National Park(also known as the Bungle Bungles, which will make us Purnululaceaous.