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Cooper's hawk (Accipiter cooperii) is a medium-sized hawk native to the North American continent and found from Southern Canada to Northern Mexico. As in many birds of prey, the male is smaller than the female. The birds found east of the Mississippi River tend to be larger on average than the birds found to the west. Other common names for the Cooper's hawk include: big blue darter, chicken hawk, flying cross, hen hawk, quail hawk, striker, and swift hawk.

Cooper's hawk was first described by French naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1828. It is a member of the goshawk genus Accipiter. This bird was named after the naturalist William Cooper, one of the founders of the New York Lyceum of Natural History (later the New York Academy of Sciences) in New York. Other common names; big blue darter, chicken hawk, hen hawk, Mexican hawk, quail hawk, striker and swift hawk.[2]

Cooper's hawks have short rounded wings, the wing chord measuring 21.4–27.8 cm (8.4–10.9 in) long, and a relatively long tail, 17–20.5 cm (6.7–8.1 in) long, with dark bands, round-ended at the tip.[4] As in most accipiters, the tarsus is relatively long, measuring 5.6–7.6 cm (2.2–3.0 in) long, and the bill is relatively small, with the culmen from the ceremeasuring only 1.5–2.1 cm (0.59–0.83 in). Adults have red eyes and have a black cap, with blue-gray upper parts and white underparts with fine, thin, reddish bars. Their tail is blue-gray on top and pale underneath, barred with black bands.

Cooper's Hawk

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Cooper's Hawk-25

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