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Cooper's or sharp-shinned hawk?

Compare head projection, tail shape, and crown profile, and learn why size is the trait most likely to fool you.

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A juvenile Cooper’s hawk perched on a metal railing, showing brown-streaked underparts; part of its banded tail is obscured by a post.
Photo: Cooper's hawk by Calibas · Public domain — dedicated worldwide by the creator

Cooper's Hawk

Astur cooperii

VS
A sharp-shinned hawk flying overhead with its wings extended and a narrow banded tail.
Photo: Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) by Steve Berardi · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Resized and converted to WebP; displayed with a crop.

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Accipiter striatus

Text-free illustrated comparison for “Cooper's or sharp-shinned hawk?”; the field marks are listed below.
Illustrated field comparisonCooper's or sharp-shinned hawk?These marks vary with age, sex, wear, and viewing angle. Crown and nape apply to adults, streaking applies to juveniles, and tail tips can look more rounded or square when spread or worn. Females of both species run larger than males, so a big female sharp-shinned can be nearly as large as a small male Cooper's, which makes size the least trustworthy mark here. Use head projection, tail, legs, and multiple views, and leave a brief sighting as an unresolved small woodland hawk.

Head in flight [1][2][3]

Large and blocky, projecting well past the wings

Small and rounded, barely projecting

Tail tip [1][2][3]

Rounded, with a broad white band

Squared or notched, with a narrow white edge

Adult crown & nape [1][2]

Dark cap contrasting against a paler nape

Dark hood running evenly down the nape

Size [1][2][3]

About crow-sized

About Blue Jay-sized

Legs [1][2][3]

Sturdy

Pencil-thin — the 'sharp shins'

Juvenile underparts [1]

Juveniles: thin, dark streaks mostly on the upper breast; lower belly mostly white

Juveniles: heavy, bold, reddish streaks running down chest and belly

Wingbeat [1]

Slower, regular beats between short glides, easily counted overhead

Several quick beats between short glides, erratic and harder to count

Body shape [1]

Thick and tubular, with a lower center of gravity

Broad chest narrowing to slim hips, center of gravity often high

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SOURCES & STATUS

Source-checked editorial guide. Last updated .