Determinación del sexo en Buteo jamaicensis calurus utilizando morfometría y análisis de ADN

Currently, the sex of Red‐tailed hawks ( Buteo jamaicensis ) cannot be determined by in‐hand methods. Males and females do not differ in plumage and overlap in size. We collected feather samples and morphological measurements from migrating birds at four sites in the western United States. Sex was determined for individual birds using sex‐specific DNA markers and polymerase chain reaction was used to identify these DNA markers. Using discriminant function analysis, we created equations for determining the sex of Red‐tailed Hawks using in‐hand measurements based on the DNA‐determined sexes. We formed two equations, one for adults that was 98% accurate, and one for hatch‐year birds that was 97% accurate. The ability to determine the sex of western Red‐tailed Hawks using morphological measurements will be useful to investigators examining possible intra‐ or intersexual differences.