Cooper's Hawk
Adult
Upright posture with a long tail. Bluish-gray upperparts with a contrasting black cap and a red eye. Underparts are pale with dense reddish barring. Bill is fairly small and strongly hooked.
© Evan Lipton | Macaulay LibraryRhode Island, February 11, 2017Immature
Upright posture with a long tail. Immatures have brown upperparts that contrast with white underparts that have strong brown streaking. Note the yellow eye.
© Geoffrey Groom | Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, December 21, 2015Adult
Adult Cooper's Hawks have gray backs, reddish-barred chests, and reddish eyes. Note the sharp division between the black cap and gray nape (neck).
© David O Brown | Macaulay LibraryNew York, April 01, 2005Not all videos have soundAdult
In flight shows relatively short, rounded wings and a long, rounded tail with thick bands. Note that its head projects well beyond its wings.
© Alex Lamoreaux | Macaulay LibraryMinnesota, October 10, 2016Immature
In flight shows relatively short, rounded wings and a long, rounded tail with thick bands. Note the wide white terminal band on tail, which can sometimes help with identification.
© Jean-Sebastien Mayer | Macaulay LibraryQuebec, September 12, 2016Adult
Accipiters like Cooper's Hawk have rounded wings and very long tails. In flight, look for Cooper's Hawk's large head that projects out ahead of the wings. The long tail often appears slightly rounded at the tip.
© Larry R Arbanas | Macaulay LibraryArizona, May 05, 2006Not all videos have soundImmature
In flight from above, upperparts on immatures are brown with paler barring in the wings and tail. Note the larger head that sticks out well beyond the wings.
© Byron Stone | Macaulay LibraryTexas, November 26, 2016Adult
From some angles white undertail contrasts with the reddish barred underparts and bluish-gray upperparts.
© Ryan Schain | Macaulay LibraryMassachusetts, December 06, 2016Adult
Note the very long tail compared to the wings—a distinctive feature of accipiters. The sharp black cap contrasting with the gray nape is a good ID feature for Cooper's Hawk.
© David O Brown | Macaulay LibraryNew York, April 01, 2005Not all videos have soundAdult
Bluish-gray upperparts contrast with the paler cheek and dark cap. Note the long rounded tail with a wide white terminal band.
© Dominic Le Croissette | Macaulay LibraryTexas, February 19, 2017Immature
Some immatures have a buffy wash on the strongly streaked underparts.
© Ed Wransky | Macaulay LibraryNorth Carolina, October 05, 2016Adult with prey
Accipiters are specialist predators that eat mostly birds. They sometimes hunt at backyard feeders.
© Timothy Barksdale | Macaulay LibraryMissouri, March 28, 1997Not all videos have soundAdult
Sometimes fluffs out undertail coverts during flight displays.
© Dan Vickers | Macaulay LibraryGeorgia, March 06, 2016Adult
Will mob larger raptors and other perceived threats during the nesting season.
© Suzanne Labbé | Macaulay LibraryQuebec, May 18, 2017