Pale Male vs. Pale Female

By D. Bruce Yolton927 5th Avenue Red-tailed Hawks

Some field marks to tell these two hawks apart…

Two broken primary wing tips on Pale Male’s left wing.  Hers are all fine.  (This mark will only last until he molts this summer.)
Pale Male has a solid red tail with all feathers in place and in good shape.  His tail is red, black terminal band, some red then white.  Her tail which seems to be less covered by terials and primaries than Pale Male, is much lighter, with a bright white shaft showing, a broken feather on the far left, and a damaged feather also on the left.  The tail is white/light red, then a weak red, a black terminal band then white.
Pale Male has a light throat, and the female’s is dark.  While both have similar markings on their flanks, her belly’s marks are noticeably darker with larger splotches of color.
201103075th04
201103075th06
201103075th07
201103075th08
They were perched together at dusk.