Buteo Regalis

FULL VIEW IS A MUST! TRUST ME!

I should've uploaded this a LONG time ago, but never got around to it.
Okay, this picture was taken on my Spring Break in Arizona. We went to the Sonoran Desert Museam, and attended their early morning-free-flight- raptor show (that's "birds of prey" for you normal folk out there)
It was AMAZING: they had so many really neat birds. They had a Chihuahuan Raven (which, I must say, are HUGE), a great horned owl, lots of Harris Hawks...

... but the one that took my breath away was the Ferruginous Hawk. This one here is a female; can't remember how old. (the trainer was was taking questions [and letting people like me get pictures] after the show)

Aren't they gorgeous? They're the largest member of the buteo [hawk] genus... and, like always with hawks, the females [like this one] are larget than the males. The name "Ferruginous" [pronounced, fur-ROO-jin-us] is from a word meaning 'rusty colored', but their scientific name explains it all: Buteo regalis, "Royal Hawk".

Just seeing this bird up close was amazing enough for me; having it swoop down over our heads during the show was even cooler, but the fact that she "posed" when I took the picture is what I like the best! Hooray for lucky-timing!

More info/facts about the Ferruginous Hawk: [link]

Please note that NONe of my photographs are stock photos. Do NOT use ANY of my photographs, with OR without my permission

Hawks (C) GOD