Hi. I saw a bird of prey in the Oval (Ohio State University, Columbus campus) yesterday. It was quite large, with a large curved beak, possibly black. It had black stripes or patches around its eyes. Its front plumage was off-white with black spots mixed in. Its back plumage dark brown with off-white spots mixed in. As for behavior, it basically just sat perched on the branch of an oak tree. Then, it took off and flew across the oval at a really low altitude, probably no more than 15 feet from the ground, but perhaps less. I don't know where it went. What kind of bird do you think it was? at first, I thought it was a peregrine falcon. So, I went home and looked at some images of them on the Web. Although I have the impression that this bird is some sort of falcon, I see it as much bigger than the peregrine. Thank you for your assistance in the identification of this beautiful creature. John Saxon ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]