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Cooper's Hawk

Accipiter cooperii

Photo by Veetorious
Published on Project Noah
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43.6853, -79.7599

Field Notes

Description:

"Size & Shape::

A medium-sized hawk with the classic accipiter shape: broad, rounded wings and a very long tail. In Cooper’s Hawks, the head often appears large, the shoulders broad, and the tail rounded.

Color Pattern::

Adults are steely blue-gray above with warm reddish bars on the underparts and thick dark bands on the tail. Juveniles are brown above and crisply streaked with brown on the upper breast, giving them a somewhat hooded look compared with young Sharp-shinned Hawks' more diffuse streaking.

Behavior::

Look for Cooper’s Hawks to fly with a flap-flap-glide pattern typical of accipiters. Even when crossing large open areas they rarely flap continuously. Another attack maneuver is to fly fast and low to the ground, then up and over an obstruction to surprise prey on the other side." ~allaboutbirds.org

Habitat:

"Wooded habitats from deep forests to leafy subdivisions and backyards." ~allaboutbirds.org

Notes:

I saw this Cooper's on my backyard fence with a European Starling dead in it's talons.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (26)

Thanks Nopayahnah and Carol! : ) This is probably my favourite series of mine!! haha
Can't say I enjoyed it but it was interesting; kept thinking, poor starling...
Uploaded a short video of the hawk tearing off the starling's feathers! Enjoy!!
Great series Veetorius! Welcome to Project Noah!
Yes Ava! I agree.. although many people aren't a huge fan of starlings. Circle of life, eh? ; )
Poor starling! But fantastic shot, indeed!
I'm actually really excited to have found Project Noah!! Thank you Ismael!! : )
Thanks Sachin! : ) I added 2 more shots too!!
Welcome to the 'Hunter' mission .. Superbb shot
Thank you Cindy! He was about to take off (hence the wings spread!)

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