Molly, I bet you have more kinds of birds than you realize, too.. When I had knee replacement surgery in late August three years ago I spent a lot of time in a recliner that faced the bird bath, I kept noticing unusual (for me) birds visiting so I kept binoculars and a bird ID book close by. I was very surprised at the number of various bird species migrating through that I had never noticed before.

Boy, that was fast. Thank you very much, Jud. For the life of me I could not find them in Sibley - now I have thanks to you.

I agree. with Claire They always show up here all at once, usually in November. You can tell them for sure by their couple of white tail feathers when they fly. The females are brownish.

I agree with BN. It is an adult Sharp-shinned Hawk. Although my reasoning slightly differs: the "hooded" appearance of this bird is obvious from this angle (how the dark head continues over the nape of the neck). This is a terrific way to tell the similar Cooper's and Sharp-shinned apart (but only as adults!). A Cooper's has a "capped" look (dark crown of the head and a lighter gray nape of the neck). The shape is also indicative of a Sharp-shinned (squat appearance with a small head and fat chest, lack of a neck, large eyes and small bill). The auriculars (cheeks) actually aren't a reliable way to tell Sharp-shinned from Cooper's, but it is a semi-useful way to tell male from female in both Sharp-shinned and Cooper's. I don't like to use it unless it is really obvious. Kind of iffy. In summary, this is a Sharp-shinned Hawk. It is hunting birds.