4 replies to this topic

[MrPC]

Hi! I'm new here and looking forward to participating. I've been photographing birds from my backyard this year and I'm up to almost fifty species now! I have another species I need help with, but this one is more interesting to me at the moment. I really have ID'ed this bird as a Cooper's Hawk - it has all the characteristics - but I'm really puzzled about its legs. I've not seen any online photos of hawks with legs like this. The only photos I've seen of birds of this general type with longer legs are falcons. Am I missing something here? Could this be a bird of another species that just looks like a Cooper's Hawk? All comments appreciated! Thanks!

I took a series of photos of this bird two days ago from my backyard in central Mississippi.

My first album has ten more shots of this bird in it. Bonus Points if you can ID the unfortunate victim...

[psweet]

You're right, this is a Coop. We rarely notice how long-legged hawks are because they normally sit upright with their thighs pressed against the body. Note how the thighs are not only feathered, but similarly to the breast.

[MrPC]

Thanks psweet! It makes more sense now that you have helped clarify things. Since the legs are feathered exactly like the breast, the legs disappear as separate parts when they are held against the breast... I have several much better photos of the Cooper's Hawks that come around my backyard, but this one looked a bit different. I think this may be the juvenile I photographed last year in the same tree, a Sweet Gum in a neighbor's backyard. This one looks extra vigorous and bright-eyed to me in the photograph and that was the impression I got as I watched it. Could we identify this as a male because of the pronounced darkness of the cap or are male Cooper's Hawks not distinguishable by markings?

[psweet]

Assuming that the lighting in the photo is good, I would call it a male based on the gray color on the cheeks and nape -- females are pale rufous in that area. I should note, however, that I'm usually more interested in hawks in the fall, and I know that in Sharpies, rufous cheeks can fade to pale gray by spring. If the same happens in Coops, I'd have to throw my hands up at sexing it. (Or convince a bander to catch and measure it, but....)

[Cavan Wood]

With the pale eyes you can also conclude it is a young adult or subadult. I've also read about the cheek colour and sex but haven't been able to keep it straight.