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From today’s paper: Name that bird

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The caption on this photo from Page AA2 in Tuesday’s LATExtra section says a military cadet is watching his eagle take flight during a ceremony in Mexico City to commemorate a battle in the Mexican-American War.

But reader Donna Sweet wrote that the photo ‘actually shows a Harris’ Hawk, a bird native to parts of Mexico and the U.S., and not an eagle.’

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The photo was from the Reuters news service, and the original caption information calls the bird an eagle.

The golden eagle (below, left) is the national bird of Mexico, according to National Geographic. The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s All About Birds site lists these characteristics: Very large raptor. Large hooked bill. Dark brown all over, with golden sheen on head. Very long and broad wings. Long broad tail.

The Harris’ hawk (below, right) is described by the Cornell site this way: Medium-sized to large hawk. Dark overall. White rump and undertail. White tip to dark tail. Chestnut-red thighs and shoulders. Legs and bare face skin yellow.

The reddish coloring of the bird in the LATExtra photo does resemble that of the Harris’ hawk. However, would the eagle be more likely to be included in a national ceremony?

There are enough questions that a call to Reuters is in order. Stay tuned. (In the meantime, what do you think?)

--Deirdre Edgar

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Photo credits: Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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