Coopers Hawk

Majestic birds like this Coopers Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) are regular visitors to backyards and bird feeders all across their range. They are not after the birdseed, but rather after the birds that are after the birdseed. This one was photographed at my office as it sat in a tree right outside my office window. I noticed the song birds had disappeared, and when I looked out to see what the problem was I spotted this beautiful hawk sitting there as if daring the little songbirds to show up. The songbirds seemed to know he was nearby and stayed a safe distance away. After about 30 minutes he gave up waiting for dinner to show up and flew off. Within about 15 minutes after the hawk departed, the songbirds showed up at the feeders again.

Coopers hawks are medium sized birds with males being smaller than females. Average weight for a male is less than a pound and females weigh up to 1.2 pounds. Birds found in the eastern part of the United States are typically larger than their western cousins. All have short rounded wings and a very long tail with dark bands, round-ended at the tip. Adults have red eyes and have a black cap, with blue-gray upper parts and white underparts with fine, thin, reddish bars. Their tail is blue gray on top and pale underneath, barred with black bands. Immatures have yellow eyes and have a brown cap, with brown upper parts and pale underparts with thin black streaks mostly ending at the belly. Their tail is brown on top and pale underneath, barred with dark bands. The eyes of this hawk, as in most predatory birds, face forward, enabling good depth perception for hunting and catching prey while flying at top speeds. They have hooked bills that are well adapted for tearing flesh of prey. Immatures are somewhat larger than a Sharp-shinned Hawk and smaller than a Northern Goshawk, though small males nearly overlap with large female Sharp-shinned hawk, and large female Cooper's Hawks nearly overlap with small male Goshawks. The Cooper's Hawk appears long-necked in flight and has been described by birdwatchers as looking like a "flying cross". The Cooper’s Hawk is seen mostly flying with quick, consecutive wing beats and a short glide, though they may also soar.

Coopers hawks mate for life. They will mate once per year and raise one brood per year. Their breeding range begins in Southern Canada and extends to Northern Mexico. Those birds living in the northern most part of their range are migratory and leave their summer ranges and head south. During the winter months we see a large increase in hawks coming into Missouri, Coopers hawks included. They will be found in woodlots, riparian areas, open woodlands, and deciduous woodlands. They are becoming increasingly common in cities and can be found nesting in backyards and city parks. They feed on a wide variety of food including backyard birds, lizards, frogs, snakes, chipmunks, mice, squirrels, rabbits and bats. They have even been observed drowning their prey. For many years these hawks were hunted by farmers because of the belief that they fed on chickens and were given the nick-name "Chicken Hawks." Because of this persecution they were hunted to almost extinction, then with they added threat of DDT their numbers dropped drastically. Research proved that they did not feed on chickens with any regularity and the damage was not as severe as farmers claimed. DDT was banned and with the hunting banned their numbers climbed and they are quite common throughout their range now. 

Cooper's Hawk was first described by French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1828. It is a member of the goshawk genus Accipiter This bird was named after the naturalist,William Cooper one of the founders of the New York Lyceum of Natural History (later the New York Academy of Sciences in. New York Other common names; Big Blue Darter, Chicken Hawk, Hen Hawk, Mexican Hawk, Quail Hawk, Striker and Swift Hawk.