Please help me identify this noisy bird

January 12, 2013 5:40 AM

Woke up to this bird squawking in my backyard in north central Texas. Obviously the video quality is not great, but can anybody help me identify it based on its call? Mississippi Kite? Hawk? And do they eat kitties? For perspective, its on top of a 30ft bald cypress tree. It appears to be at least 18-24 inches from head to tail.
posted by punkfloyd to Pets & Animals (12 answers total)

I'm thinking rtha will know this. I listened to all the hawk-y birds on All About Birds, and none of them sounded exactly right. I'll move on to my other bird recordings to see, though.
posted by Stewriffic at 5:50 AM on January 12, 2013

Swainson's Hawk, maybe?

Eh, let's wait for rtha, this is not my speciality. She can confirm or deny. I memailed her.
posted by Stewriffic at 5:54 AM on January 12, 2013

We think a Red-shouldered Hawk. In which case it will not eat kitties, just small birds, mostly.
posted by gingerbeer at 6:00 AM on January 12, 2013 [1 favorite]

Here's a recording -- click on the "Typical territorial call "kee-aah""
posted by gingerbeer at 6:02 AM on January 12, 2013 [2 favorites]

And this is the rtha/gingerbeer team responding here.
posted by gingerbeer at 6:04 AM on January 12, 2013

I'm on my phone so linking things was a pain. If the rsha decides to nest near you, you can look forward to months of shouting from the parents and then the fledglings. They are noisy birds.
posted by rtha at 6:07 AM on January 12, 2013 [2 favorites]

It's a red shouldered hawk. It's call is really distinctive. We have them here (as in they are perched in the trees on my property nearly every day. I actually impressed my wildlife rehabilitator neighbor by being able to identify it by sound. But I've heard that call so many times that its unmistakable.
posted by tylerkaraszewski at 6:12 AM on January 12, 2013

Response by poster: So a red shouldered hawk. Good to know they won't eat Pixie.
posted by punkfloyd at 6:17 AM on January 12, 2013 [1 favorite]

See, I thought it was a red-shouldered hawk at first, but then it really didn't sound like the ones who live in my yard either.
posted by Stewriffic at 6:22 AM on January 12, 2013

(yes, and i should not have left our dear gingerbeer out of the summonsing)
posted by Stewriffic at 6:23 AM on January 12, 2013

RSH's can and will swoop on prey. They love little tasty bits like mice and small birds, but have no problem testing larger prey especially during mating season and when they have a nest. I doubt that kitty will be lunch anytime soon, but don't be surprised to see a hawk dive-bomb her.
posted by Gungho at 6:24 AM on January 12, 2013

Those Texas RSHAs have a Texas accent, is all. That's why you didn't recognize it.
posted by gingerbeer at 6:24 AM on January 12, 2013 [7 favorites]