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The Florida race of the red-shouldered hawk is less intensely colored than California red-shoulders, with a particularly pale head in birds from south Florida (shown in some of these photos). Immatures are less heavily streaked than western birds. They are quite common throughout Florida and seem to have adapted well to living in suburbs and cities, as long as there are plenty of trees. I photographed these birds in Crystal River, the Everglades, Big Cypress Preserve, Ocala National Forest, and the Corkscrew Swamp sanctuary. Obviously, the birds at bottom right are busy copulating -- a behavior lasting about 5 seconds and initiated with no preliminaries other than a quick chirping call and the male gliding in and landing directly on the female's back.
Pictures of Florida red-shouldered hawks in flight are here.
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