Hey everyone, this is David Brown from LycoBirds.
In this video I will teach you the basics of identifying Cooper’s Hawks and Sharp-shinned Hawks.
Cooper’s Hawk and Sharp-shinned Hawk are two common species in the Accipiter genus.
This pair presents one of the toughest bird identification challenges for North American birders.
Most of the field marks are variable or difficult to judge so always use more than one when
making an ID.
Let’s begin with a comparison photo.
The Cooper’s Hawk is larger and lankier with a big head.
The wings are straight.
The tail has a rounded tip.
It looks like a flying cross.
The Sharp-shinned Hawk is smaller and more compact with a small head.
The wings are pushed forward, making a curve on the leading and trailing edges.
The tail is square-tipped.
It looks like a flying T.
As adults, both species have orange barring on the underside.
The main difference we notice is the tail.
On a Cooper’s hawk the outer tail feathers are shorter than the central tail feathers.
This is why the tail looks rounded when slightly open.
When the tail is closed, we can see these shorter outer tail feathers tucked underneath
the longer central tail feathers.
Compare that to the sharp-shinned hawk where all of the tail feathers are a similar length,
giving the tip a squared-off look.
On adults, we can look at the back of the neck, or nape.
Cooper’s hawks have a pale nape, giving them a capped appearance.
Sharp-shinned Hawks have a hooded appearance because the nape is the same color as the
top of the head and the bird’s back.
Juvenile Cooper’s hawks have brown teardrop streaking that is concentrated on the upper breast.
Juvenile Sharp-shinned hawks have similar streaking but it is usually a bit heavier
and blobbier.
Again we see the differences in the tails.
Juveniles of both species are brown on top with no distinguishing plumage traits.
On average the white tail tip is more prominent on Cooper’s hawks.
On these perched juvenile Cooper’s hawks, we see the teardrop streaking.
Numbers 1 and 2 show the shorter outer tail feathers.
Number 3 has more white on the head than is typical.
Here is another juvenile Cooper’s hawk.
Notice how the eye and beak give the bird a fierce expression.
When the tail is closed, it looks squared off because the shorter outer tail feathers
are hidden.
Notice how large the eye looks on this juvenile sharp-shinned hawk, giving the face a “bug-eyed” look.
Adult Cooper’s hawks sometimes do a slow courtship or territorial flap.
The wings nearly touch on the upstroke.
They puff out their undertail coverts which could be confused for the white rump patch
of a northern harrier, especially when combined with the slower flap, so be careful.
Let’s look at a few more photos and I will walk you through what I am seeing.
The body of this hawk has orange barring so we know it is an adult.
The head seems small with a large eye.
The overall shape of the bird is compact.
The outer tail feathers are not shorter, in fact the tail even has a notch in the center.
This is an adult Sharp-shinned Hawk.
This hawk is blue on top rather than brown so it is an adult.
The back of the neck is the same color as the head and back, giving the bird a hooded
appearance.
The tail is squared off.
This is also an adult sharp-shinned hawk.
This bird seems lanky and large-headed.
It has brown underside streaking so it is a juvenile.
The streaking is teardrop shaped and concentrated on the upper breast.
The tail is fanned and the outer tail feathers look shorter.
This is a juvenile Cooper’s hawk.
This bird is also large-headed with teardrop streaking on the body.
It is gliding but the wings are held out straight rather than pushed forward.
The outer tail feathers are shorter.
This is another juvenile Cooper’s hawk.
This bird has a relatively small head with broad wings and a wide tail.
The body has brown teardrop streaking that extends from the breast down to the belly
and even to the undertail coverts.
The tail bands look sloppy and uneven.
This is a bulky, muscular bird and if you saw it coming towards you you could easily
mistake it for a Buteo.
This is a juvenile northern goshawk, the largest of our three Accipiters.
Goshawks are rare at most hawk watches and always exciting to see.
Let me end with a few final thoughts about Accipiter identification.
Never rely on just one field mark.
Look at the whole bird.
In the field we often can’t see plumage details, so we must look at the shape.
The way to get better is to spend a lot of time in the field observing them.
Once you have identified a hawk keep watching it to learn the way that it looks from different
angles and flies in different conditions.
Finally, they are hard to identify and there is no shame in not putting a name on every bird.
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You can also visit our website at LycoBirds.com.
This is David Brown.
Thanks for watching!