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Posted by Sharpie vs. Coops on 15:27:54 01/23/05
In Reply to: Sharp-shinned picture... posted by Wanda Soto
Hi,
Personally I wouldn't call that bird a sharpie. But, since I wasn't there I really can't have much say because IDing birds by one picture isn't a very good thing to do. Anyways, there are a few good field marks to look for when trying to tell the difference between Cooper's and Sharpies. First off, the tail ISN'T a very good field mark. Cooper's can have square tails and sharpies can have round tails. If the bird in question is flying over you then look at the head. Cooper's head was stick out past the wings more than a sharpies will. Giving the Cooper's Hawk a "fly cross" look and a sharpie a "flying hammer" look. Another decent field mark is size. Size will be apparent if the bird is a female cooper's or a male sharpie. In my experience Cooper's also seem to hawk white on the back edge of the tail. I am not sure how good of a field mark that really is but I like it. Jizz is also a very big factor in telling between Coops and Sharpie. I wont go into all that and how each bird flys. But an accipter that kills a moorhen would probably have to be a freakin big female sharpie or a coops.
Good Birding
: This is the only decent shot I got of the hawk that took down a cmmon moorhen during yesterday's TAS walk at Wakodahatchee. It was identified as a Sharp-shinned. My question for anyone who cares to answer: If you can't get a good look at the end of the tail, what else would tell you this is a Sharpie?
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