ORIGINAL: Pygmy

Hehehehe... We could go on forever.. ..One thing that makes identifying birds of preychallenging is the fact that species often appear similar, AND therecan beconsiderable variation of appearance between individuals of the same species..

Flight characteristics are a great help... A harrier and a rough leg may look similar sitting on a limb, but they sure don't FLY the same...

A harrier on the wing appears long tailed and long of wing, and the white rump patch is very distictive, if the bird is flying low enough for you to see it...Very often you can see itas they hunt low over fields for mice..

A rough leg on the wing appears much more broad winged and broad tailed, very much like a redtail, and they tend to soar a lot like redtails.. If they happen to fly over you those black wrist patches are a dead giveaway...

If you look at enough of them, it becomes easier...Kinda like ducks...When you first start hunting them, a duck is a duck... After hunting them for a few years, if you are observant, you can tell a mallard from a woodduck from a teal from a merganser on the wing several hundred yards away, just from the way they fly..