Adult Cooper's Hawk

Continuing with the Cooper's Hawk. This one was sitting on a branch in an open field along Highway 83 near Sonoita, Arizona. He sat there very willingly and proudly showing off his beauty. Cooper's and Sharp Shinned are very similar in coloration both in juvenile and adult phases. The juvenile phase (shown yesterday) with brown streaks on the breast and brown wings changes to this orange breast and blue-grey wing combination. The only real difference is that the Sharp Shinned is much smaller; about the size of a crow, 11 inches tall, 23 inch wingspan. The Cooper's Hawk is 16.5 inches tall with a 31 inch wingspan. Both have similar diets, i.e. small birds. The long tail and relatively short wing span allow them to fly through trees much easier than Red Tailed Hawk which has a wingspan of 49 inches and whose diet is mainly small animals. Although the Sharp Shinned and Cooper's are found throughout North America like the Red Tailed Hawk, they are far fewer in number. We feel fortunate that we see them here daily -- and year round.