Did You Know?

A Cooper's Hawk captures a bird with its feet and kills it by repeated squeezing. Falcons tend to kill their prey by biting it, but Cooper’s Hawks hold their catch away from the body until it dies. They’ve even been known to drown their prey, holding a bird underwater until it stopped moving. All About Birds

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Cooper's hawk

Date Submitted: November 3, 2011

Observer: Paul Lauenstein

Observation Date: 10/1/11

Observation Time: 9:11 a.m.

Observation Location: 5 Gavins Pond

Plant or Animal? Animal

Common Name: Cooper's hawk

Scientific Name: Accipiter cooperii

Cooper's hawk

Comments: This juvenile female Cooper's hawk alit in the dogwood tree right outside my living room window as I was working at my desk. Without getting up, I reached for my camera and snapped this photo through the window just before it flew away.

More Information: Cooper's hawks look like Sharp-shinned hawks, but Cooper's hawks have a more rounded tail. Also, the streaks on the breast of a juvenile Cooper's hawk are narrower than those on the breast of a sharp-shinned hawk.

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