Hawks at a Distance: Identification of Migrant Raptors

It’s over 20 years since the publication of Hawks in Flight (Sutton, Dunne, Sibley), which first wrestled with the intricacies of identifying raptors on the wing. Author of this new guide, Jerry Ligouri, is widely recognized within the community as being one of the foremost experts on this particular group of birds and his 2005 Hawks from Every Angle was widely greeted as a fine addition to the literature that attempts to shed some light on these species.

Successfully identifying birds of prey in flight is still pretty much at the cutting edge of North American birding, and hawkwatches from Hawk Mountain in Pennsylvania to Veracruz in Mexico draw large numbers of raptor aficionados each year. It therefore seems relevant to introduce a new guide to aid the successful identification of these birds.

Like much of the cutting edge of bird identification, identifying hawks in flight floats somewhere between art and science. In my opinion the aim of field guides should be to bring it somewhat closer to science than art, and here Liguori succeeds admirably.

The book starts with an overview of terms and bird topography and then after an outline of each genus, breaks down into individual species accounts. Each species merits a large number of small images of ‘hawks at a distance’ covering birds of different ages, sexes, colour morphs and subspecies where appropriate. There are also images of birds in ‘difficult’ lighting conditions, a regular issue whilst in the field. The book thoroughly covers twenty species of raptors that are more or less common at hawkwatch sites in the U.S as well as eight others which are less common: some in detail (Mississippi Kite), some in a much more cursory way (Crested Caracara with one single picture).

The first thing that grabs one about the book is the huge number of stunning images that grace the publication. Although small, they are pin sharp and immediately recognizable to this seasoned hawk watcher. There is obviously a skill to picking useful and diagnostic images to illustrate a photographic guide and it is immediately obvious that Jerry has turned his attention to that endeavour expertly. More often than not he is also using his own images, so you are truly seeing the birds through his eyes. 

The utilitarian descriptions in the family and species accounts may if anything lean towards being a little dry, especially when comparing them (as one can’t help but do) to the somewhat florid writing style of Hawks in Flight. Though the text throughout is generally sparing, it is to the point and is littered with little nuggets of useful information that, from my experience, only years in the field would elicit.

A nice finale to the book is the page of 50 black and white shots of each common raptor taken from almost every angle imaginable. It has both an appealing artistic feel to it, but also holds value as far as visualizing the movement of your intended quarry.

Overall this guide does a great job of tackling the difficult task of translating the vagaries of describing and illustrating flying raptors. My feeling is that this book is probably not one to throw at the neophyte hawk watcher, but is a great supplement to previous guides and will be a welcome addition to the bookshelves of those that are looking to refine their skills when identifying this challenging group of birds.

·        Hawks at a Distance: Identification of Migrant Raptors by Jerry Ligouri (Princeton University Press, 2011)

·        216 pages, 558 colour photos and 896 black and white images

·        ISBN 978-0691135595 Pbk, £13.95, Birdwatch Bookshop from £12.95