Cooper's hawk

Cooper's Hawk:

COMMON NAME: Cooper’s hawk

SCIENTIFIC NAME: Accipiter cooperii

DESCRIPTION:

14 – 21” tall.  Blue-gray upperparts, breast & belly white barred with reddish-brown, top of head is black.  His long tail has a rounded edge with a wide white tip.  Eye color is yellow to deep red.  He is similar to, but larger than sharp-shinned hawk.

LIFE HISTORY:

Life Span: One banded bird was recaptured when 7 ½ years old.

Eggs:  Short oval, white to “dirty” white, sometimes spotted with brown, not glossy.

Clutch size:  4 – 5; incubated for 24 days mostly by female.

Nest:  In an upright crotch or on a branch next to the trunk, 24 – 28” in diameter.  A platform of sticks and twigs is lined with chips and flakes of bark.

ECOLOGY:

Habitat:  He lives in broken deciduous woodlands or streamside groves where he can dash through the woods in low, swift flight.  He reaches out in the air or on the ground to catch his prey.

Food:  He eats songbirds (flickers, woodpeckers, doves, jays, robins, …) and some small mammals.

Ecosystem:  Cooper’s hawk is uncommon, but a resident in all but the desert areas of California.

 


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