Hawk ID

This hawk is about half the size of a red tailed hawk... never did manage a pic of its' chest. silly thing wouldn't turn around, and the tree blocked the front of it.

1.

I'm going to say a Coopers Hawk. Fine shots of it also considering where it was perched.

Duane N wrote in post #5423016
I'm going to say a Coopers Hawk. Fine shots of it also considering where it was perched.

thanks for the ID and the complement!

Looks like a Immature Sharp-shin to me.

example pic off google:

Byte size: ZERO | Content warning: NOT AN IMAGE

The never ending question about Coopers vs. Sharp Shinned Hawks.

I'm no expert when it comes to identifacation of raptors and I judged this Hawk in question with the ones I've shot....and I know for certain these are Coopers Hawks.

http://www.pbase.com/d​uane_va/image/95822210​.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/d​uane_va/image/95845372​.jpg

http://www.pbase.com/d​uane_va/image/94827301​.jpg

They need to come up with a new name when we can't be certain on the identification.

How 'big' was the Hawk? If it was Dove size I'd say Sharpie and if it was Crow size I'd say Coopers...but then again, you run into the problem of an immature Hawk or an Adult male Sharpie being the same size as an immature Coopers....lol

judging by the size and tail shape i would guess coopers hawk. they have a more rounded tail then the sharp shinned
A medium-sized hawk of the forest, the Cooper's Hawk specializes in eating birds. It is built for fast flight through the obstacle course of trees and limbs.

Description
top
Medium-sized hawk.
Tail long, rounded, and barred.

it was chasing after a sparrow when I first observed it flying past me. :P

definitely bigger than a dove... I would estimate about a foot tall.

how you know that you've been spotted...

I say it is an immature Coopers..

Shame you don't have a picture of it from the front, as it would help clear things up.
Size is never a good way to determine whether an accipiter is a Sharpie or Cooper's, as the female Sharpie can be as large or larger than the male Cooper's. It is easier to identify adults, but since your bird is still in its first year, it is quite hard to identify, especially without seeing it from the front or a picture of its legs.
That said, this bird looks fairly large headed and long tailed to me, which would point to a Cooper's rather than Sharp-shinned. Yet, as I've said, it's dificult to tell.

today, under a near by tree were tons of dove feathers. So it at least had a full tummy yesterday evening.

Nice shots of the Hawk, whatever it is.

canonloader wrote in post #5430384
Nice shots of the Hawk, whatever it is.

thanks!

Are the maps of migration patterns accurate? If so, it's not winter and the sharpie should have already migrated out of central OK.

cooper
http://identify.whatbi​rd.com/obj/36/_/Cooper​s_Hawk.aspx

sharpie
http://identify.whatbi​rd.com …_/Sharp-shinned_Hawk.aspx