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Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Birds Around Las Vegas, Wildlife Around Las Vegas
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)

General Description: Cooper's Hawks (Accipiter cooperii) are medium-sized hawks of the forest. The tail is long and banded, and the wings are short and rounded, attributes that help when flying through tree branches hunting other birds. Adults have a red, barred breast, red wing linings, and a dark crown. In flight, the tail-corners of a Cooper's Hawk are rounded. Compare with a Sharp-shinned Hawk, where they are square.

Favored Habitat: Forests and other places with trees.

Taxonomy: Accipitriformes, Accipitridae.

Where to Find: Fairly uncommon, usually seen hunting in riparian areas and mountain forests.

Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)

Comments: Can be difficult to separate from Sharp-shinned Hawks because they basically look alike. However, Cooper's are larger, about the size of a crow; Sharp-shins are smaller, about the size of a Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay. Size can be a problem because there is some overlap (large female Sharpies can be a big as a small male Cooper). In flight, the tail corners are diagnostic: Cooper's are rounded, Sharp-shins are square.

Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) If you were a tasty bird, this might be the last face you ever see!
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Note dark hood
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Note the red, barred breast and long, banded tail
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Cooper's Hawk juvenile, note thin streaks on front
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Cooper's Hawk juvenile, note white spots on back
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
When spread, unequal-length tail feathers make the tail rounded
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Cooper’s Hawk; those are some serious bird-catching toes
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Cooper's Hawk with dark cap and light nape
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Cooper's Hawk with dark cap and light nape
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Cooper's Hawk nest in cottonwood tree
Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Cooper's Hawk on big stick nest in cottonwood tree
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Peaking over the edge, this big girl wasn't happy to see me
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Cooper's Hawk fledging out of the nest a bit early
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Cooper's Hawk bathing
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Cooper's Hawk bathing
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Cooper's Hawk bathing
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Cooper's Hawk drying off after bathing

Watch out below!
Cooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii)
Cooper’s Hawks are common backyard birds in Las Vegas in winter

Note: All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate.
copyright; Last updated 240108

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