Dare I start 'the debate'? I think your hawk is an adult Sharp-shinned.

Very nice photos. I hope you get a shot of the mystery bird soon.

-O-

-O- I am no hawk expert at all. I always thought the smaller hawks in my area were Coopers. We have a lot of Red Tailed around but obviously this guy is much smaller. Just curious, how did you ID the Sharp Shinned with such a grainy picture?

Thanks for chiming in!

I'm certainly no expert either. With perched Cooper's and Sharp-shinned the first things I look at are head size and shape. This guy's head looks smallish to me. As I said, I 'think' it's a Sharp-shinned; I'm not positive on this one.

-O-

I am no expert but I agree with the Coopers Id on the hawk simply because of the shape of the folded tail. Coopers tails are rounded where Sharp-Shinned are more square. Either way it does have the adult colors. We have both around our area and usually I go by size if I cannot see the tail since the Sharp Shinned are generally a bit smaller.

Donna

Tail shape on perched accipiters can be a dodgey ID point. The attached link is a googled image of Sharp-shinned showing a seemingly rounded tail.

The bird in question also has what appears to be a fairly rounded head (Cooper's have flattish heads).

These are talking points-I'm still not 100%, but sticking with my tentative ID.

-O-

Here is a link that might be useful: {{!gwi}}