(Click to enlarge)
This Red-tailed Hawk was a surprise to the dozens of New York City commuters who spotted it at the crossroads of a busy traffic intersection near the 72nd Street subway entrance. The City had put the owl statue up in the tree to discourage pigeons from pooping on commuters below, but the Red-tailed Hawk thought he had found a companion predator. Notice the diagnostic streaked band across the Hawk’s chest.