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Posted by John Boyd on 08:24:05 04/01/09
In Reply to: Accipiter sighting (3/30) posted by Novice Birder
Cooper's Hawks have been increasingly common year-round residents during the last 10 years. As Carlos said, Sharp-shinned is also possible during winter and migration (i.e., now).
If you're going by a long tail, keep in mind that immature Red-shouldered Hawks can have surprisingly long tails.
Distinguishing these two accipiters can be tricky, and we often don't the looks we need for reliable ID. Although Cooper's is larger, big female Sharpies are barely smaller that male Cooper's. Moreover, it is often hard to judge absolute size.
If there is not significant feather wear, and the tail is being held normally, the tail shape is the classic field mark. Sharpies are usually square-tailed, Cooper's have longer, rounder tails.
Other often useful field marks include the cap and collar look of the Coopers, the thin legs of the Sharpie vs. the thick legs of the Coopers, the jutting Cooper's head in flight (actually due to the way Sharpies usually have s-shaped wings, compared to straight wings for Coopers).
Until you gain experience with the two accipiters, you shouldn't expect to be able to correctly ID most of them.
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