Cooper's Hawk
Accipiter cooperii
Also called chicken hawk, bird hawk.
The hawk that turns up at bird feeders, because the feeder is what it is hunting. A sudden silence and an empty yard usually means one is sitting nearby.
- Size
- Crow to duck — 37–48 cm
- Bill
- Hooked
- Where
- yard, woodland, city
- Season
- year round
What it looks like
Slim with short rounded wings and a long tail banded in dark grey. Adults are blue-grey above with fine rusty barring below and a dark cap; young birds are brown with brown streaking.
The checks that confirm it
- Long tail with broad dark bands and a rounded white-tipped end.
- Short rounded wings — built for chasing through trees, not soaring.
- Flap-flap-glide flight, rather than continuous soaring.
- Adults: blue-grey back, fine rusty barring below, dark cap contrasting with a paler nape.
Voice
A rapid 'cak-cak-cak' near the nest. Usually silent away from it.
Confused with
Smaller, with a square-tipped tail and a smaller head that does not project much beyond the wings in flight. Genuinely difficult, and often left unresolved.
Much bulkier, broad wings, short tail, and it soars in the open.
Questions about this bird
How do you identify a cooper's hawk?
Long tail with broad dark bands and a rounded white-tipped end. Short rounded wings — built for chasing through trees, not soaring.
What does a cooper's hawk sound like?
A rapid 'cak-cak-cak' near the nest. Usually silent away from it.