Quote Originally Posted by OATS View Post
I knew I shouldn't have hit the send button. Sorry Conor for sparking this off in your thread. Good move relocating it to a new one.

Birders, naturalists, and ornithologists have been unsuccessfully debating this very topic for 150 years so there is no reason for us to agree on it either. This topic has been near and dear to me for some time since I have spent my whole life in the primary breeding region of Harlans and where the large majority of our redtails are Harlans phase. Yep I said phase. When one examines the scientific definition of a species or subspecies there is no biological justification for Harlan's hawks to be considered a separate subspecies let alone a separate species which they were considered for a long time. Many differing opinions amongst the experts out there. For every paper supporting a subspecies designation there is a study contradicting it. I, for one have seen hundreds if not thousands of Harlans, handled more than I can count, and have hunted them for many seasons (even have one in the mews as we speak). Many falconers in Alaska currently have Harlans and western phase RTs they hunt with. Around here, anybody who has hunted RTs for any amount of time and has experience with both phases can tell you that they are absolutely just redtails of a different hue and no two Harlans are colored the same. Every year we find a new nest or two where one of the parents is a traditional western phase and one is a Harlans. What does that make the offspring? Certainly not a different subspecies? Just like a litter of rabbits, dogs, etc. may have different color offspring, birds with diverse visual characteristics like redtails do the same.

I don't want this thread to turn into a debate with people's personalities clashing over the inability to agree so let's be nice. I'm not big on arguing over something that really doesn't matter so we may have to agree to disagree. A redtail is a redtail. They are great falconry birds no matter what color they are.
Eric, if you go back and reread my posts, I have basically said the same things you just said. I do not believe that every color morph (or phase as you call it) is a separate subspecies. If there are true RT subspecies, it is only a few. I also said that the Harlan's have a variety of tail colors, including rufous. The only thing we do disagree on is which phase Wendy is.