Habitat

Cooper’s Hawks live in woodlands, tree canopies, a forest edge, or a field, where they can easily catch and locate their prey.

This is a map of the Cooper’s Hawks’ location throughout the year.

Diet

Cooper’s Hawks are carnivores. They eat small to medium sized birds (flickers, robins, starlings, Mourning Doves), chipmunks, squirrels, and a variety of other small mammals.  They catch their food with their feet and repeatedly squeeze it to death, or they may put them in water and drown them until lifeless.

Conservation Status

Currently, the Cooper’s Hawks’ status is Least Concern, a status meaning that an animal or species has been evaluated, but does not qualify for any other category or status.

Predators and Adaptations

Cooper’s Hawks have eyes that face forward, just as many predatory birds have, for good depth perception while hunting and quickly catching prey.

Their hooked beaks are used for ripping the flesh of their food apart and eating it.

By: Joelle D, Evan M, Ya’Mirah J, Peter S

Distinguishing Features

During flight, the Cooper’s Hawks’ shadows can be described as a “flying cross” from below viewers.

Unlike Sharp Shinned Hawks, the end of the Cooper’s Hawks’ tails are rounded, not flat.

 The eyes of the Cooper Hawk alter from red to yellow, their irises lightening in shade as they age.

Fast Facts

Weight: 7 to 24 oz.

Size: 14 to 18 in. long

Wingspan: 24 – 36 in (male) 29 – 36 in (female)

Diet: Carnivorous

Interesting Fact

The oldest living and known Cooper’s Hawk lived to be 20 years and 4 months old.

The birds around the Mississippi River tend to be larger than the birds that live around the west.

Audio

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Coopers_Hawk/sounds