Birds of Foothill College

The Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) is a medium-sized hawk that is blue-gray above and streaked rusty-red below with long banded tails, yellow legs, and small, hooked beaks. Like most species of raptors, females are larger than males. While they are generally silent, they do make alarm calls. You can hear examples here: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/coopers_hawk/sounds

Similar species

Sharp-shinned Hawk Sharp-shinned Hawks have a squared-off tail (the Cooper’s Hawk has a rounded tail), and is slightly smaller.

Red-Shouldered Hawk Superficially may look alike but the red-shouldered hawk is larger and as a buteo, has longer wings and a shorter, more fan-shaped tail. less ↑

The Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)is a large (19-25 inches) hawk, the Red-tailed Hawk is most easily identified by its dark brown back, pale underparts, and rusty-red tail. Male and female Red-tailed Hawks are similarly plumaged in all seasons; however, like most species of raptors, females are larger than males.

Red-tailed hawks have the most recognizable call because Hollywood uses their call to represent any raptor in the world. You can hear an example here: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/red-tailed_hawk/sounds less ↑

Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) is relatively large (17-24 inches) hawk with a brown back, barred white-and-black wings, broad black tail banded and large rust-colored shoulder patches visible from above or while perching. The chest is also rust colored. Like most species of raptors, females are larger than males.

They have a distinctive call that you can listen to here: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk/sounds

Similar species

Cooper's Hawk (and Sharp-shinned Hawk) - the Red-shouldered Hawk is larger, chunkier, has a much shorter, fan shaped tail. Cooper's hawks are accipiters and have lankier bodies and shorter wings, with long tails.

Red-tailed Hawks are larger than Red-shouldered Hawks, with broader wings, and slower wingbeats. Adult Red-tails usually show a reddish top of the tail, a dark-streaked “belly band,” and pale wings with a dark bar at the leading edge. (http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Red-shouldered_Hawk/id). less ↑

The Black- shouldered Kite (also known as the white tailed kite) (Elanus caeruleus) has long, narrow, pointed gray wings a long white tail and gray back with white underside. They have a black spot on inner portion of wings and red eyes. These birds are probably most noticed when hovering over prey. They have the ability to hold a stationary position in the air without flapping by facing into the wind.

You can hear examples of their sounds here: http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/White-tailed_Kite/sounds less ↑