Harris Hawk

I saw my first Harris Hawk in the wild and I've been excitedly using Lightroom to edit the pictures and lighten them up to confirm that it was, indeed, a Harris Hawk. 

The Harris Hawk is dark with a white rump and white undertail and a white tip on the tail. The shoulders and the thighs are chestnut.  It was spotting that white rump what got me excited. Its legs and the bare skin on its face are yellow. The tail is also crossed with dusky bars. 

In the U.S. they are only found in portions of southern Arizona, about a third of Texas and a small patch of New Mexico. However, they are fairly widespread in Mexico and portions of South America. 

I love how the early morning light is catching this saguaro. 

Its English name was given by Audubon after his friend Edward Harris. 

I saw this hawk in Cabeza Prieta NWR just north of Organ Pipe Cactus NM and west of Ajo, near the Charlie Bell Road. It was on a saguaro near a large wash and flew between several saguaro while I followed it around.