What breed of bird is this?

Question

I saw a bird of prey yesterday. I live north east of Baltimore, MD in the country (wooded and farmland). The bird had a white belly with black lines going from wing tip to wing tip. It looked like a Falcon as far as body and head shape goes. Some swallows were chasing it and it took a few dives at them.

Answer 1

It's hard to say from your description. Generally I identify birds of prey by their size, coloration, tail lengths, body shape and (if possible) their flight behavior. All of these things give a clue to the type of bird. Was the coloration on the top or bottom of the wing? How large was the bird? Was it hovering, sitting in a tree, diving? What was the tail size (long or short)?  Viewed from below, many BOP have stripes from wingtip to wingtip such as this harrier http://raptorphoto.sundala.com/Harrier/h... so it's hard to say. This website may give you a better idea if you can remember some additional clues about the bird http://identify.whatbird.com/mwg/_/0/att...

Good luck!