Ooh! A red-tailed hawk!

Cool! There's a red-tailed hawk sitting in the tall tree in the courtyard outside my campus office window. At least I *think* it's a red-tailed hawk. I haven't been able to see its tail clearly, but the rest of it matches. Plus, they're pretty common all across the States, so it's more likely to be a red-tailed hawk than just about any other species.

I love the courtyard outside my office. Gargoyles and hawks -- what else could a medievalist want?

[UPDATE: OK, I'm almost certain my avian friend is a light form of the red-tailed hawk. And, btw, s/he just caught another bird -- a pigeon, I think, judging from the color -- and is feasting on it in the crook of the tree right at my eye level. It looks like it's plucking it first -- just like we pluck chickens -- but that's probably just an effect of the feathers flying around. I'm fascinated. I've never watched a bird of prey eat in real life before....Can you tell I'm having a hard time concentrating on work?]