How to Identify a Cooper’s Hawk

What Does a Cooper’s Hawk Look Like?

Courtesy Diana Hernandez

Both male and female Cooper’s hawks have a bluish-gray back with a white underside, usually with horizontal reddish stripes, although the female is typically about one-third larger. Juveniles have yellow eyes, which turn reddish-orange as the birds mature into adults.

Cooper’s hawks and sharp-shinned hawks are notoriously difficult to tell apart, but there are a few things to consider. David Barber, senior research biologist at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in Kempton, Pennsylvania, says, “In flight, the sharp-shinned hawks tend to fly more erratically since they are a lighter bird. They flap more.”

He notes that one rule of thumb is, “If you can count the wing beats, it’s probably a Cooper’s.”

Courtesy Jeremy Speakes

On a perch, David says, “Overall, the Cooper’s is more stocky. It tends to have a bigger head.” He also points out that a Cooper’s tail looks more rounded, while a sharp-shinned hawk’s tail is squared off.

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Range and Habitat

Courtesy Kyle Clouse

As a medium-sized Accipiter, Cooper’s hawks are built for flying at high speeds around trees. Look for them forests and open river country throughout the continental United States and the southern regions of Canada.

David says, “One of the really cool things is they are so adaptable. They move into urban areas and tolerate humans really well.”

“They go where the food is,” he explains. There are typically very healthy pigeon and dove populations in urban areas, as well as birds at backyard feeders in suburban areas.

As a partial migratory species, Cooper’s hawks in the northern part of their range will fly south to overwinter as far south as Florida, Mexico and Honduras, using the daylight hours to complete their journey.

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Nesting Habits and Eggs

Courtesy Steve Shattles

As pair bonded mates, David says, “The males come back (to the area) first and set up the territory. They’ll start nesting in early to late April into early May, depending on the area.”

After determining the proper placement of the nest approximately 25 to 50 feet high in a tree, often in a fork, the male is primarily responsible for the nest construction. He gathers sticks to create a structure that is roughly 24 to 27 inches in diameter and at least 6 tall. He then lines it with bark and softer green twigs to make it more comfortable.

The female lays two to six pale colored eggs and is responsible for the 30 to 36 day incubation period, while the male brings her food during this time. Once the fuzzy, down-covered young are born, he continues to hunt for the family.

“They’ll stay in the nest about 35 days,” says David, and the male continues to help feed them until they are about six or seven weeks old.

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What Does a Cooper’s Hawk Eat?

Courtesy Nelson Lamb

“They eat primarily birds,” says David. Medium-sized birds such as American robins, jays, doves and pigeons, and even chicken and quail, are often potential prey. They also eat some mice, squirrels, rabbits and other small mammals.

Courtesy Daniel McCann

Having a top tier predator near your bird feeder is sometimes disturbing to people who feel badly for setting up the birds they love to watch. David says the easiest remedy to dissuade a Cooper’s hawk, or any predatory bird, is to, “Take the feeders inside. Do it for a week or two.”

Without a consistent food source, the hawk will most likely move on to another location.

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Songs and Calls

Bird sounds courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology 

Cooper’s hawks are not highly vocal birds outside of the breeding season. A cak-cak-cak is the most common call, and is typically utilized by either sex when protecting the nest or young.

Courtesy Roger Friedman

Otherwise, the male might give a kik call when he flies towards the nest to bring food, and sometimes the female will respond with a whaa vocalization during this time.

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About the Expert

Currently serving as their senior research biologist, David Barber has been with the Hawk Mountain Sanctuary since 1999. With a M.S. in Zoology, he conducts annual bird counts and field research, plus handles their GIS mapping projects, besides being an all-around exceptional naturalist.

Sources

• All About Birds – Cooper’s hawk
• Hawk Mountain Sanctuary
• National Audubon Society – Cooper’s hawk
• http://www.coopershawks.com/lh_breeding.html