Confirm ID please?

This little one is a regular on my property. I'm thinking Sharp Shinned, but I've read that a male Cooper's Hawk looks very similar. He/she is about 14 inches from the top of his head to the tip of his tail, and flies like a speeding bullet. The photos are cropped quite a bit.

Sharp-shinned hawk.

Thanks Beekeeper!

Coopers

Beautiful colors !

Look, it's easy : One wears a cap, one wears a hood. Small head, big head, long neck, no neck. One has a rounded tail, the other is squared. One has skinny legs, the others are beefier. One is the size of a jay, the other big as a crow, one has big shoulders and narrow hips, male, female, young or old....

Ewww boy.... if I could only could keep it straight and be lucky enough to see enough of them both at the same time to compare ! I dunno, I'll go with Ted this time and say Cooper's.

Now get out there and bring me some more pictures !

Sharp-shinned.

It's a Sharp-shinned hawk--most likely a female due to the tail tip not being notched. Sharp-shinned hawks are smaller than Cooper's, but western Cooper's are smaller than their eastern counterparts and the male Coops can be pretty close to the size of the female Sharpies.

Here's why it's a Sharpie:

-Tail tip is squared off with the middle set projecting out as far as the other tail feathers. Often on male Sharpies the middle set is shorter giving the tail a notched appearance, but not 100% of the time. Individual birds can differ, and molt/feather wear can also change appearance.

-The head is small in proportion to the body.

-You can see enough of the tarsus and toes in the top shot to see they are too thin to be from a Cooper's.

-The overall proportions of your bird match up with a Sharp-shinned hawk. Often Sharpies look 'bug-eyed' too.

Cooper's hawks have rounded off tail tips due to each set of feathers from the middle deck set getting shorter. They also usually have a wider white terminal band than Sharp-shinned hawks, but feather wear can make this a difficult tip to use. Cooper's heads are larger, and the hackles are often raised or partially raised giving the head an almost rectangular appearance. Size wise, Cooper's are usually about the size of a crow and Sharpies the size of a pigeon. Just remember western Cooper's hawks are smaller than their eastern counterparts, and male Cooper's can be close to the size of female Sharp-shinned hawks.

This might be a little better shot of him. I don't have one of him in flight (yet), but his wings are more forward when he flies, with the leading edges almost even with his head. That was another reason I thought Sharp Shinned.

Check this link out:
http://jonruddy.blogsp​ot.com …ary-23rd-i-spent-few.html

Also Jerry Liguori posts great information on Hawkwatch International's Blog.
http://www.hawkwatch.o​rg/blog

Thanks for the links. I've been to the Hawkwatch site and it's very informative. The other site is quite a study! It will take a while to absorb all of it, but I see what you mean about the tail and the legs.

Beekeeper wrote in post #17815888
Check this link out:
http://jonruddy.blogsp​ot.com …ary-23rd-i-spent-few.html

Also Jerry Liguori posts great information on Hawkwatch International's Blog.
http://www.hawkwatch.o​rg/blog

I Hi Hoseeee..... after reviewing this article I would like to change my vote to SSHA. Thank you Beekeeper for this link.