(Accipiter cooperii)
Conservation • Description • Habitat • Ecology • Distribution • Taxonomy
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Description |
Cooper’s Hawk is a medium-sized hawk. The cap and upper parts are bluish-gray. The nape of the neck is pale. The underparts are white with thin, horizontal, reddish-brown barring. Immature individuals are brown above with dark brown, vertical streaks on the breast and belly. The tail is relatively long and rounded at the end with a broad terminal band. It is bluish-gray above with black bars, pale below with dark bars. |
Size |
Male: 15″ to 17″ in length 27″ to 32″wingspan Female: 17″ to 19″ in length 32″ to 37″wingspan |
Voice |
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Adult call |
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Juvenile call |
Similar Species |
Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) is smaller, no more than 12″ in length. The nape of the neck is dark. The tail is shorter, more square, and has a narrower white terminal band. |
Habitat |
Riparian and mixed woodlands and woodlots; suburban yards with bird feeders |
Ecology |
Migration |
Late March to mid-May and mid-August through November |
Nesting |
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Food |
Songbirds, squirrels, and chipmunks |
Distribution |
Occurrence |
Uncommon migrant, local breeder |
Maps |
The Minnesota Ornithologists’ Union All Seasons Species Occurrence Map |
Taxonomy |
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Class |
Aves (birds) |
Order |
Accipitriformes (hawks, eagles, kites, and allies) |
Family |
Accipitridae (hawks, eagles, and kites) |
Subfamily |
Accipitrinae (typical hawks and harriers) |
Genus |
Accipiter (accipiters) / Astur (true goshawks and allies) |
Genus The revision has been widely but not universally accepted. For Cooper’s Hawk, Avibase - The World Bird Database, Cornell Lab of Ornithology Birds of the World, iNaturalist, and International Ornithological Congress (IOC) World Bird List use the name Astur cooperii. American Ornithological Society (AOS), Catalog of Life, ITIS, NatureServe, and NCBI use the name Accipiter cooperii. The AOS is the governing authority for bird names in North America. Since they have not yet adopted the revision, the official scientific name of Cooper’s Hawk in North America remains Accipiter cooperii. That may soon change. |
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Subordinate Taxa |
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Synonyms |
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Visitor Photos |
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Gregory Gilman |
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The Cooper's Hawk |
Kim Harcey |
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Andrea Berger |
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Molly and Robert Power |
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First time seeing one on our game cam! |
Bonnie Shoebottom |
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two days in a row on deck railing |
Norm & Peg Dibble |
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Here’s a Cooper’s Hawk, October 8, 2014, a frequent visitor to our yard looking for small birds. |
Gerry Garcia |
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Ida Marie |
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… I photographed him about 1 block off of the Mississippi River last night July 29th, 2016 … |
MinnesotaSeasons.com Photos |
A Cooper’s Hawk staking out a bird feeder in a suburban back yard. |
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Visitor Videos |
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Kim Harcey |
Coopers Hawk 01 |
About
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) |
Other Videos |
Cooper's Hawk (Accipitridae: Accipiter cooperii) Trapping with Decoy Owl and Mistnet |
About
Uploaded on Jun 28, 2009 Female Cooper's Hawk photographed at Grand Forks, North Dakota (28 June 2009). Banded by Tim Driscoll and Tom Perry. |
Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) "Whaa" call |
About
Published on Dec 23, 2015 An adult Cooper's Hawk (CAHA) giving the "whaa" call, from a leafless valley oak near Diablo Foothills Regional Park, Walnut Creek, California, 23 December 2015. This hawk was responding to another bird, which we did not see, making the same call from deep in a live oak about 100 feet away. I have only heard this call during the breeding season near COHAs' nests. The Birds of North America states that this call is "primarily given by females". |
Cooper's Hawk (Accipitridae: Accipiter cooperii) Male |
About
Uploaded on Jul 4, 2009 Photographed at Grand Forks, North Dakota (04 July 2009). "This morning / the hawk / rose up / out of the meadow's browse / and swung over the lake-- / .... / and I said: remember / this is not something / of the red fire, this is / heaven's fistful / of death and destruction..." --Mary Oliver |
The Cooper's Hawk (Accipitridae: Accipiter cooperii) |
About
Uploaded on Dec 31, 2009 A brief but contemplative look at the Cooper's Hawk, which is a common breeding resident of forests, shelterbelts, and treed suburban residential areas in the upper midwest United States, Specimens shown here were photographed in North Dakota. SHOW MORE |
Cooper's Hawk - Épervier de Cooper - Azor de Cooper - Accipiter cooperii |
About
Uploaded on Feb 1, 2011 Montreal botanical garden - Jardin Botanique de Montreal |
Visitor Sightings |
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Gregory Gilman |
Location: Rochester, MN 55901 Check out this visitor to our neighbor's porch today. |
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Kim Harcey 5/1/2023 |
Location: Cambridge, MN |
Kim Harcey 4/16/2023 |
Location: Cambridge, MN |
Ellen |
Location: Shieldsville, MN |
Andrea Berger 12/28/2022 |
Location: Golden Valley, MN |
Molly and Robert Power 4/9/2021 |
Location: Albany MN First time seeing one on our game cam! |
Bonnie Shoebottom 10/15/2019 |
Location: Centerville, Minnesota two days in a row on deck railing |
Gerry Garcia 4/18/2019 |
Location: West Bloomington, MN |
Ida Marie 7/29/2016 |
Location: Ramsey, MN … I photographed him about 1 block off of the Mississippi River last night … |
Norm & Peg Dibble 10/8/2014 |
Location: Maple Grove, MN Here’s a Cooper’s Hawk, October 8, 2014, a frequent visitor to our yard looking for small birds. |
MinnesotaSeasons.com Sightings |
Created: 4/29/2016 Last Updated: © MinnesotaSeasons.com. All rights reserved. |