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education: birds of georgia Cooper's Hawk, Accipiter cooperii
Status: Uncommon permanent resident over entire state, more numerous during fall migration and in winter with presence of northern breeders. May be increasing in urban areas (Beaton, et al 2003) especially cities like Atlanta with a large number of mature trees. Nests broadly across U. S. and CAN except in the Plains States and southwestern deserts where nest trees are lacking. Habitat: Mature forest and open woods, wood edges and riparian groves. Nests in both deciduous and coniferous trees, usually in taller trees with open areas nearby. In GA, nests have been found in thick pine stands of trees approx. 15 years old. Diet: Birds and small mammals. Takes mostly medium-sized birds, in the size range of Mourning Dove ( Zenaida macroura ) and American Robin ( Turdus migratorius ). Also eats chipmunks, squirrels, bats and mice, occasionally eats snakes and large insects (Kaufman 1996). Ambush hunters lying in lurk for prey and using explosive speed to overtake it, actively hunting at dawn and dusk. At dusk, waits at dove roosts, flushing and killing arriving birds. Identification: Sexually monomorphic, female larger than male. Adults upper parts blue-gray, undeparts white with fine rufous checker pattern or barring on breast. Large fluffy white undertail coverts. Iris red or orange in adults, yellow in juveniles. Legs dark yellow. Juveniles brownish on upperparts with white breast finely streaked with brown. Separating Cooper's from Sharp-shinned Hawk ( Accipiter striatus ) presents a difficult identification challenge. Cooper's has a large squared head with a well-defined blackish cap that sharply contrasts with the paler nape and upper back. Sharp-shinned has a small rounded head and its slate blue (males) and dusky gray (females) cap does not contrast sharply with the nape and upper back color. In Cooper's, the eye is positioned closer to the bill while on Sharp-shinned, the eye is in the middle of the head. In flight, the larger head of Cooper's protrudes beyond the bend of the wing while in Sharp-shinned the head is even with the bend of the wing. Sharp-shinned tends to soar with bend of the wing held somewhat forward, while in Cooper's, the wings are usually held straight, accentuating the effect of the head protrusion. In Cooper's the tail is rounded, and in Sharp-shinned, the tail is square. Tail shape, however, can be deceiving, and it should not be used except in combination with other field marks. In general, Cooper's are larger than Sharp-shinned, but a small male Cooper's can be the same size as a large female Sharp-shinned, aggravating the identification difficulty (Kaufman 1990). Conservation: During the 1900's some eastern populations declined significantly from trapping, shooting and pesticides (DDT), but recent data suggests that the species has made a recovery. During the 20 th Century, the shooting of raptors at fall migration sites was considered sport. Conservationists fought to have migration sites protected, as in the case of Hawk Mountain, PA. Presently, the practice of sport shooting of raptors has been curtailed in the U.S. Fall migration counts from four sites in the U.S. (Goshute Mts, NV, Hawk Ridge, MN, Hawk Mt., PA and Cape May, NJ show that in 1983, the four locations counted a total of 3037 Cooper's, and in 2004 the total rose to 8394). The species is still listed as Threatened or Endangered in several eastern states, and in GA, they are routinely shot in some locations, particularly in sw GA on quail plantations by managers who believe that Cooper's are a significant threat to the population of Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus ).
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