Enraptured~

Some stunning pictures of Melanistic hawks taken by Cindy Knoke.

Cindy Knoke

Elusive raptors,

rarely let you near.

When they do,

you are enraptured.

Melanistic red tail hawks have more melanin or pigment in their feathers than other hawks making them distinctive and easily identified. It used to be thought these morphological distinctions were an isolated variant, but now scientists are noticing behavioral differences associated with the changes in feather color.

Melanistic hawks typically let me get much closer than other hawks and I wonder if this might be due to behavioral differences associated with their color variance. After all, it is often true, that those who are different, are also quite brave!

Cheers to you from the brave and different hawks~

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