Cooper's Hawk
Accipiter
cooperii
Description
14-20" (36-51 cm). W. 28" (71 cm). A
crow-sized hawk, with long tail and short rounded wings. Adult
slate-gray above, with dark cap, and finely rust-barred below.
Immature brown above, whitish below with fine streaks. Tail tip
rounded, not squared-off. See Sharp-shinned Hawk.
Voice
Loud cack-cack-cack-cack.
Habitat
Deciduous and, less often, coniferous
forests, especially those interrupted by meadows and
clearings.
Nesting
4 or 5 dull-white eggs, spotted with
brown, on a bulky platform of sticks and twigs, usually more than
20' (6 m) above the ground.
Range
Breeds from British Columbia east to
Manitoba and Canadian Maritimes, and south to Mexico, Gulf Coast,
and northern Florida; absent or local throughout much of Great
Plains. Winters from Central America north to British Columbia and
southern New England.
Discussion
Like its smaller look-alike the
Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper's feeds mainly on birds, which it chases
relentlessly through the woods. It also takes small mammals and, in
the West, lizards and snakes. During incubation and the early stages
of brooding the young, the male bird does all the hunting, bringing
food to both his mate and the nestlings. Cooper's Hawks mature
rapidly for birds their size; a full 25 percent of young birds breed
the year after they are hatched, and the rest the year after
that.
