Find This Bird. Finding a Cooper's Hawk is typically a matter of keeping your eyes peeled – they're common but stealthy, and smaller than other common hawks like the red-tailed, so your eye might skip over them in flight. Look for the flap-flap-glide flight style and remarkably long tail to zero in on these birds in an instant. read more
This is a juvenile Red-tailed Hawk. Young Coopers' would show a much streakier (as opposed to solid brown) head, and not have a white breast like this bird (it too would be streakier). Also, the body shape is more consistent with a Buteo and not an Accipiter. read more
Identify a Juvenile Cooper's Hawk. Ed Schneider Juvenile Cooper’s hawks can be puzzling to identify because they lack the distinct coloration of adult birds, but savvy birders can note a range of clues that will positively identify these birds. read more
In Cooper’s Hawks, the head often appears large, the shoulders broad, and the tail rounded. Relative Size Larger than a Sharp-shinned Hawk and about crow-sized, but males can be much smaller. read more