Taxonomic status of Harlan's Hawk Buteo jamaicensis harlani (Aves: Accipitriformes).

Since its description in 1830 by Audubon, Harlan's Hawk (taxon harlani) has been considered both as a species (Buteo harlani) (1830-1891 and 1944-1972) and as a subspecies of Red-tailed Hawk (B. jamaicensis harlani) (1891-1944 and 1973 to present). Both decisions making it a subspecies lacked sufficient taxonomic justification, whereas the 1944 decision to consider it a species was supported by convincing arguments.

Contrasting molecular and morphological evidence for the identification of an anomalous : a cautionary tale for hybrid diagnosis.

An adult was found dead as a road-kill south of Sacramento, California, and was thought to represent the first state record of the eastern Red-shouldered Hawk (;). It is now a specimen in the Museum of Wildlife and Fisheries Biology (WFB 4816) at the University of California, Davis. We examined this specimen and found that many of its plumage characters differed from all other adult Red-shouldered Hawks examined, including nominate adults.