The cap is dark and upperparts blue-grey (the former darker). Often, a few more-or-less random white spots can be seen on the scapulars (feathers attached to the wing that cover the meeting of wing and body). Underparts white with rufous or tawny bars. The crissum (the undertail coverts surrounding the cloaca) is white. Thighs rufous, but often barred white. The cheeks are tinged rufous (sometimes faint, but generally very distinct in taxa from the Greater Antilles). The irides are dark orange to red, but these are yellowish to pale orange in juveniles. Juveniles have dark brownish upperparts, each feather edged rufous, giving a rather scaly appearance. The brown head is streaked whitish, and the whitish underparts are extensively streaked brown or reddish and usually with reddish barring on the sides. The nape of the Sharp-shinned Hawk does not contrast with the cap. It is a solid color from cap to back, quite the difference from the Cooper's Hawk. When perched, the tips of the tail feathers of the Sharp-shinned Hawk are closer to even in length, the end of the tail appears more square. The combined traits of a small bill and large eyes give the Sharp-shinned Hawk a bug-eyed and almost goofy appearance when compared to the stern appearance of the Cooper's Hawk.

Natural History

Habitat

Sharp-shin Hawks are forest and woodland birds. These hawks are a regular sight in parks, quiet neighborhoods, over fields, at backyard feeders, and even along busy streets if there are trees around. They are also adaptable in all seasons to forested mountainous regions, especially foothills.

Food

These birds surprise and capture most of their prey from cover or while flying quickly through dense vegetation. They are adept at navigating dense thickets, although this hunting method is often hazardous to the hawk. The great majority of this hawk's prey are small birds, especially various songbirds. Rarely, sharp-shinned hawks will also eat rodents, lizards, frogs, snakes, and large insects, like dragonflies.

Nesting

Cooper's hawk is a solitary bird apart from breeding and rare aggregations during migration. Usually a bulky platform nest is built each year although pairs may reuse a nest for 2-3 years. Egg laying peaks in late April although it can occur as early as Febuary. Often about 3–5 eggs are laid every other day, though there can be up to 2 days between the 4th and 5th eggs. Jeveniles depart the nest at about 1 month.

Migration

Cooper's hawks are year-round residents around Las Vegas and in most of the Mohave. Like a majority of diurnal birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere, Cooper's hawk is a partial migrant. They tend to be most migratory in the north and largely to partially sedentary elsewhere.

More Photographs

Adult Coooper's Hawk

The head of a Coopers hawk is incredibly flexible, allowing it to look completely backward.

Adult Cooper's Hawk

Adults have blue-gray upperparts and white underparts with rufous barring. Their tails have a series of alternating dark- and light-gray bands and a white tip. Adults also have dark crowns that contrast with their lighter-colored napes, and have yellow irises that darken with age, first to orange, and then to red in older adults.

Cooper's Hawk Diet

Songbirds and gamebirds are the main types of avian prey consumed, and rodents are the most frequently taken mammals. In addition to mammals and birds, Cooper’s Hawks also take reptiles, amphibians, fish, and insects.

Juvenile Cooper's Hawk

Juveniles have brown upperparts, and cream-colored underparts with reddish-brown streaks on their breast and belly.