Re: above post...I forgot to mention that I live on the Illinois side of the Mississippi River on the Iowa/Illinois border in the Quad Cities (Rock Island Illinois/Davenport Iowa)

Thanks!!

It is a Cooper's Hawk, probably a sub-adult (2-3 years old) due to the orangish eye..an adult would have red-eyes. They primarily eat birds but will also prey on small mammals such as squirrels and chipmunks.

BN

I'm thinking a sharp-shinned hawk.

Narrow white at tail's tip, eyes set a bit back, skinny legs, forehead indented.

I've been wrong before, though.

tj

Here is a link that might be useful: Cooper Sharp-shinned ID

Wow...they're very similar, aren't they!! Anyone else want to weigh in? I agree and think it's one of these two (sharp-shinned or cooper's).

BN, you are usually right, but I too thought this was a sharpie at first and then second look. Maybe a female?

Also: a second year ss or coop would still be brown, so this bird is at least 3 years old. The males have redder eyes than the female, so the eye color (other than the yellow phase) may not be truly indicative of age.

But my God when they are red they are red.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cool pictures of birds' eyes

I found Sharp-shinned hawks on the Cornell website and I am going to post a photo from there with due credit. My hawk is on the top, Cornell's is on the bottom. Just a note, mine was preening and his head feathers were all roughed up as he turned his head down to preen. I think that's why he appears to have a crest and white stripes in his head feathers...I think those stripes were just creases.

Thank you so much for your comments! I learn so much from this forum!

In the last two pictures, look how thick the toes are and the legs of the bird on the left compared to the SSHA on the right. Also, note how long and slender the middle toe is on the SSHA (right) compared to the much thicker and shorter middle toe on the bird on the left. That, as well as the distinclty "capped" appearance of the head on the bird on the left lead me to the ID of a Cooper's Hawk. In general, Sharpies have a much more rounded head and shorter face as the bird in the right distinctly shows. The bird on the left has a much pointier face and a very flattened crown and elongated head.

BN

Yeah. I think you're right.

Hmmm, I dunno. There's still that distinctive forehead (last pic of the original post shows it best).

tj

Here is a link that might be useful: Head-lines

This is a Sharpie. The head profile with its steep forehead is a perfect match

I think those of you who think it's a SS are right. The "stop" between the beak and the top of the head is much more pronounced that it is on the Cooper's hawk, which is must more a smooth line. The comparative photos of the SS and the Cooper's hawk on tsugajunkie's post really convinced me. Thanks all of you so much, it makes me feel so frustrated to see a beautiful bird and not know what it is!! Even when the pix aren't perfect, it makes ID's possible!! Thank God for my good camera, along with all of you knowledgable birders!!

Cooper's. Look at your bird's lighter nape compared to its dark head cap. Look at the hackles on this Cooper's. Notice the rounded head of the SSH in the photo on the right.

If you received the Autumn 2011 "BirdScope" from Cornell, there are drawings of a SSH and Cooper's on p. 4. Once you see that, you will have no questions about your bird.

{{!gwi}}

I looked thru my photos and finally found a bit better profile picture. I took about 100 pictures of this hawk just trying to get a few good ones. Thank goodness for digital photos. LOL

This is my hawk in profile and the Cooper and the SS.. I think the shape of the head is totally different between my hawk and the Cooper but I think it looks a lot like the SS. I hope this helps.

P.S. Thanks for posting that photo bob n bernie wa!

Folks, among all the back and forth on this, no one has mentioned the most obvious way to distinguish a Sharpie from a Cooper's -- size! Sharpies are small, only about 11", almost as small as Kestrels. Cooper's are a good bit larger, at 16". These two hawks are often confused because their markings are so similar, but size is your best guide. Ginni, can you estimate size based on memory? Hard to tell from the pictures since there are no reference points.

jannd, a male coop can overlap a female ss : ( that's why we need the other field marks.

jannd, I should have given the information I usually give with the picture. In most, if not all, species of the birds of prey, the female is larger then the male. Sharpie males are about 10"- females 14". Cooper's males are 14"- females 21".

A 14" male Coop is the same size as a 14" female Sharpie.

The side by side picture is made from pictures on the same fence with one picture manipulated to make the board the same width as the other. That makes the birds to scale to one another.

As you can see, they are for all practical purposes, the same size. The real size difference is between the male Sharpie and a female Coop. We hope to get a picture of them on the fence for a side by side of all 4.

Hope this is of help, Bob

This hawk was about the size of a blue jay but with a broader chest. It seemed rather small when my sister and I were watching it and we thought it might be a kestral. Does this help?

That's a big help.

It's a SS hawk. No male coop is a small as a BJ.

Thanks Elly_nj!! :))

Yes, if the size is that small, it's a Sharpie.

Also, regarding size: a female ss, even though the same size or close to the same size as a male coop, the ss is more diminutive, if that makes sense. Leaner legs, longer skinnier toes. All that is hard to see in a flash of a bird.

That's the trouble Elly_nj, it sat there a long time but I had trouble getting good pix because of all the little tree branches in the way and my camera tends to focus on a tree branch if it's in front of the subject I'm trying to capture. Of the many pix I took of this bird, 95% of them were out of focus. We're going to go back out soon and see if we can find this bird again. It was a thrill to see a hawk we'd never seen before!