That’s definitely not a sharp-shinned hawk. Looks like a buteo of some sort but I’m not the best at hawk ID. Maybe a red-tail. They can have so many different color morphs I am never sure though.
Sharp-shinned hawk is much smaller and has different coloration.
Look at the size and body proportions. Very different species. Coloration varies quite a bit as you can see but sharp-shins are small and fragile looking since they’re built for agility. Larger hawks are a lot bulkier.
About 75% it’s a red-tailed hawk, and if not, another species in genus Buteo. They generally don’t eat small songbirds like the one pictured.
This looks like a sharp-shinned hawk, which feeds on these little birds.
That’s definitely not a sharp-shinned hawk. Looks like a buteo of some sort but I’m not the best at hawk ID. Maybe a red-tail. They can have so many different color morphs I am never sure though.
Sharp-shinned hawk is much smaller and has different coloration.
Is it not a red-tailed hawk? They are extremely common across North America.
That’s what I think it is, just didn’t want to be overconfident.
Look at the 5th picture in the carousel here:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Sharp-shinned_Hawk/id
It sure looks like one to me. We have one staking out our bird feeder in the backyard, and we’re pretty upset about that.
Some of the red tailed hawks look similar too. I guess that I just don’t know!
Whoops, I replied to the wrong comment, although that’s part of the same chain. You can see it here.
Look at the size and body proportions. Very different species. Coloration varies quite a bit as you can see but sharp-shins are small and fragile looking since they’re built for agility. Larger hawks are a lot bulkier.
About 75% it’s a red-tailed hawk, and if not, another species in genus Buteo. They generally don’t eat small songbirds like the one pictured.
Oh, then maybe that’s not a sharp-shinned in our tree either. I just used Google Lens and pictures to try to identify it.