Large brown bird flying in a hilly forest area near Puget Sound. Washington state USA
imgur.com/a/g3lFFKb
imgur.comPosted May 17, 2022, 3:32 AM UTC
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imgur.comI know size isn't very reliable, but some band tailed pigeons flew nearby, and this bird definitely looked bigger. It had fast and strong wingbeats. It would flap 1-2 times, then tuck its wings. I didn't see its bill or face at all, nor its breast, belly, or feet.
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Pileated Woodpecker is your likely culprit. Black usually but can look a muddled brown and the flight style you described is typical for woodpeckers.
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The flight style definitely sounds like a woodpecker - a swoop-swoop kind of movement? And if it was unusually large, I’d bet pileated as well! Good catch!
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Was it below the tree line? My first thought is Pileated Woodpecker.
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Probably a piliated, but red-breasted sapsuckers are also in that area and could fit the description...
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Seems like a Red-Shouldered Hawk
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Pileated Woodpecker, was it about the size of a Mallard?
Pileated have a black body or so I thought ?
They do. And vibrant red heads. But witness accounts are not always 100% accurate, just ask any lawyer.
Lol
I'm thinking the late afternoon light created a yellow cast on the bird, causing the red to look more orange and the black to look more yellow. u/shagdoll's comment about the flight style prompted me to look at a video, and I think pileated has to be it. Thanks to everyone for your help in ID. I don't think I ever would have come to this conclusion on my own.
Why not red-headed? Size?
Out of range.