Hawks & Eagles

Cooper's Hawk

Rundschwanzsperber

Astur cooperii

Hawks & Eagles5 photosFirst seen: 7 July 2026

Cooper's Hawk is a medium-sized forest hawk with short rounded wings and a long tail. It hunts mainly birds and pursues them quickly through woodland, gardens and urban areas. Adults have a grey back, reddish barring below and red eyes, while juveniles are brown and streaked. Females are substantially larger than males. The species now breeds regularly in many suburbs, where bird feeders can concentrate its prey.

ID tip: Against the smaller Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper's shows a rounded, white-tipped tail, a larger head projecting well beyond the wrists in flight, and a dark cap contrasting with a paler nape.

First seen: 7 July 2026 · Washington Park Arboretum · 5 photos in the collection.

Places in my records

Locations where this species is supported by a dated first record, an unambiguous single-place outing or a reviewed assignment.

San Juan Islands14 August 2026 Washington Park Arboretum7 July 2026

Family: Hawks & Eagles (Accipitridae)
Length: 36–51 cm
Wingspan: 62–99 cm
Regional status: Year-round resident (Pacific Northwest, USA)
Conservation: Least Concern LCIUCN Red List · retrieved 27 August 2026assessment listed as Accipiter cooperii
Habitat: Woodland, leafy suburbs and gardens with feeders
Diet: Songbirds and small mammals, ambushed at speed

Built from verified occurrence records, not drawn by hand. Core range = the countries holding 99% of all records; the rest are scattered or vagrant records. Record counts track where people watch birds as much as where the birds are, so the map shows presence, not abundance. Data: GBIF (CC BY 4.0). Basemap: Natural Earth.

Cooper's Hawk

Places in my records

Selected photographs