Birds of Prey
Cooper's Hawk
Astur cooperii
A crow-sized hawk built for speed through the trees. It often hunts songbirds and doves at backyard feeders.
How to identify it
- Adult: blue-gray back with fine orange barring on the breast
- Dark cap and red-orange eyes
- Long, rounded tail with dark bands and a white tip
- Short, rounded wings; flies with a flap-flap-glide pattern
SizeAbout the size of an American Crow
American Robin10 in
Cooper's Hawk17 in
American Crow19 in
Canada Goose37 in
6 inAverage length, bill to tail
Details
- Size
- 14–20 in long; wingspan 24–35 in
- Weight
- 8–24 oz
- Habitat
- Woodlands, forest edges, suburbs and parks
- When to see it
- Year-round across most of the US
- Diet
- Medium-sized birds such as doves and robins; some small mammals
Range in the United States
Life history
Food
Mostly medium-sized birds such as doves, robins and starlings, caught after a fast chase; also small mammals.
Nesting
A stick platform in a tall tree, often in a pine or oak.
- Clutch
- 2–6 eggs
- Incubation
- 30–36 days
- Young
- Fledge at about 4–5 weeks
- Broods
- 1 per year
Behavior
Uses stealth and speed, flying through branches and around buildings to surprise prey.
Conservation
Recovered after DDT was banned; now common in towns and suburbs.
Cool facts
- Females are about a third bigger than males.
- Many have healed fractures in their chest bones from crashing through branches.
- It often kills prey by squeezing it with its feet.
Songs & calls
▶Bird sounds video coming soon
Watch the Cooper's Hawk
▶Video coming soon
