That's a good possibility, but when I saw it (from a distance), it really looked like the bars on the wings were almost to the tip of the wings..........sort of like what the white bars on a red-headed woodpecker look like when it flies. Maybe I have some sort of a mutant?? I'll be keeping my eye out for it again.

I'd say not a chance on a 16lb Rat Terrier being taken by a large raptor. They can't take off with it and the small dogs make tons of noise. I have a 17lb Boston Terrier and most living things are afraid of her, including the FEDEX guy. I'd say you have nothing to worry about.

I suggest visiting Cornell Lab of Ornithology's "All about Birds" webpage. You can listen to the calls of hawks (since you got to hear this suspicious bird's call). That might be the key to IDing this bird. http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-tailed_Hawk/id The most educated answer I can give is that this is a dark morph red-tailed hawk. Its bill is just too broad to be a red-shouldered hawk (and I have not known red-shouldered hawks plumage to vary that considerably, as red-tailed hawks are known to do). Now the fact that you're in Florida is interesting since dark-morph red-tailed hawks are more known to occur in the Plains and western U.S.(see Harlan's hawks and western red-tailed hawks for images). So, unless this is a falconry bird that escaped, this is probably a rare bird to find in Florida. Would love to hear the opinion of a birding expert. This post was edited by TMFF on Mon, Jan 28, 13 at 22:31

I agree. Cooper's. I get one of these in my backyard all the time takin down pigeons..few weeks ago he got a blue jay. Always leaves me nice feathery messes, lol. But SO awesome to watch. First time I saw him make a kill I was totally amazed. Knocked that poor lil pigeon right outta the air into my driveway. He ripped it apart right there with his wings all spread out protecting his kill before he took it in a tree. You managed to take some really nice pix..I haven't been able to do that yet, but I keep trying!