Cooper's Hawk
Accipiter cooperii
Accipiter cooperii 4
The Cooper’s Hawk is often confused with its slightly smaller relative, the Sharp-shinned Hawk. Both species are blue-gray above and streaked rusty-red below with long tails, yellow legs, and small, hooked beaks. However, the Cooper’s Hawk has a rounded tail (Sharp-shinned Hawks have a squared-off tail), and is slightly larger at 14-20 inches long. Like most species of raptors, females are larger than males. Although Cooper’s Hawks may be found all year long across the majority of the United States, individual populations undertake short distance seasonal migrations. In winter, Canadian populations move south into the U.S. and southern populations move south to the Gulf coast, southern Florida, and the desert southwest. In its range, the Cooper’s Hawk is one of the most numerous and adaptable raptors. While usually found in forest habitats, this species has expanded into human-altered landscapes and now frequents towns and suburbs as well. The Cooper’s Hawk is a ‘bird hawk’ capable of hunting birds (on the ground, in trees, or in flight) from the air, and this species frequently enters yards to take small songbirds from feeders. With the aid of binoculars, Cooper’s Hawks may be seen perched in trees while scanning for prey. However, they are often more easily seen in the air while moving between perches or while actively hunting. As this species hunts by sight, it is only active during the day.
Associations 5
Cooper's hawks impact the populations of the animals they prey on. They are also hosts for several species of parasites, including larval dipterans, mallophagial lice, tapeworms and helminths.
Conservation status 6
Cooper’s hawk populations declined as a result of the use of pesticides such as DDT, but have begun to recover since DDT was banned in 1972. One threat facing Cooper’s hawks today is degradation and loss of habitat. Management activities such as logging may make former habitat unsuitable for breeding.
Cooper's hawks are protected under the U.S. Migratory Bird Act and CITES Appendix II. They are listed under CITES Appendix III in Costa Rica. In Michigan, they are listed as a species of special concern.
US Migratory Bird Act: protected
US Federal List: no special status
CITES: appendix ii
State of Michigan List: special concern
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
Habitat 7
Coopers hawks are closely associated with deciduous and mixed forests and open woodland habitats such as woodlots, riparian woodlands, semiarid woodlands of the southwest, and other areas where the woodlands occur in patches.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: savanna or grassland ; chaparral ; forest
Other Habitat Features: suburban ; riparian
Sources and Credits
- (c) David Hofmann, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-ND), http://www.flickr.com/photos/23326361@N04/3152140368/
- (c) Wikimedia Commons, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7b/Accipiter-cooperii-01.jpg/460px-Accipiter-cooperii-01.jpg
- (c) Armtuk, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d0/Coopers-Hawk-on-a-Fence.jpg
- Adapted by Natalie LaScala from a work by (c) Smithsonian Institution, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/34818327
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31374428
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31374431
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31374421
