Cooper’s Hawk Profile
In North America, there’s a bird renowned for its agility among the falconry community. It’s a successful and widespread predator, often known as the big blur darter, striker, or swift hawk.
Its speed and power make it a formidable foe to mammals and other birds, but its feisty nature, aggressiveness and unpredictability make it unpopular as a hunting companion.
Most commonly known as the Cooper’s Hawk, this is a bird that embodies the strong will of a raptor and the true nature of a hawk.
Cooper’s Hawk Facts Overview
| Habitat: | Varied temperate forests across their range, nesting in tall trees |
| Location: | North America |
| Lifespan: | Up to 12 years in the wild |
| Size: | 38 cm (15 in) long |
| Weight: | Up to 566g (20 oz) in large females |
| Colour: | Brown-grey or grey-blue above, light grey or white underneath. Yellow legs |
| Diet: | Mostly birds, also small mammals and reptiles |
| Predators: | Owls, buzzards, eggs eaten by racoons, crows |
| Top Speed: | More than 88 km/h (55 mph) |
| No. of Species: | 1 |
| Conservation Status: | Least Concern |
The Cooper’s hawk is a true hawk and a popular bird among falconers, particularly for its surprising speed and power, relative to its size.
They are outstanding killers, and adaptable predators of medium-sized birds, small mammals, and the occasional reptile.
Despite this, they have a lot going against them, and the odds are slim that any one egg will make it to maturity.
But the fact that this species is increasing in population across its range is a tribute to the tenacity of this awesome little bird.
Interesting Cooper’s Hawk Facts
1. They’re true hawks
Cooper’s hawks are members of the Accipiter genus, which is where all true hawks belong. In North America particularly, things get a little muddled with the common names, with many of what the Europeans would call Buzzards being referred to as hawks.
To differentiate, their genus is used: the Buzzards are called Buteo hawks and the true hawks are called Accipiter hawks.
Cooper’s hawks as members of the latter, are smaller than Buteos, and that comes with faster flight and higher agility.
2. They’re exceptional hunters
Not only is the Cooper’s hawk a powerful killer, it’s an adaptable one, too. Many of its common names are a testament to its ability to take large or fast prey, and it does so in a handful of ways.
When attacking from the air, it will stop flapping around 4 metres from the target and throw the legs forward, timing its extension with the moment of contact to add its velocity to the velocity of the bird itself.
Typically, both feet make contact with devastating consequences for the victim.
But pursuits on foot are also common, especially when hunting a lizard or small mammal. In some cases, the bird will even try to drown its prey in water.
3. They’re fast
This species seems to only have a confirmed report of migratory speed, which is already quite impressive. Peak flight speeds were around 88 km/h, but the hunting speed will greatly exceed this.
The clever extension of the feet at just the right time also adds 15% to the speed of impact, one of the ways to maximise the power of the talons when making the killing blow.
But despite their prestigious killing talents, this is a species that has to fight its way to adulthood.
4. They have a high mortality rate
In the wild, this hawk can live up to 12 years, but this is by no means a given. Cooper’s hawks have a high rate of mortality, with their average age at death being as low as 16 months.
That’s because they face a plethora of challenges while young, including racoons, owls, exposure to wind, logging and even their own parents starving them in favour of a larger sibling.
The mortality rate in the first year is as high as 72-78%, reducing to 34-47% in the second, but for each successful nest, an average of just under three birds make it to fledge.
5. Flies can also be a problem
If all that wasn’t enough, both blowflies and louseflies are common parasites of nestlings, and these unpleasant critters set up shop in the nest itself.
Blood-sucking flies latch onto the feather sheaths of the head and feet and can be severe enough to cause fatality in juveniles. 1
6. They probably return to nesting sites
With all these hindrances to successful reproduction, it would hardly be a surprise if breeding couples returned to a nest that actually worked out for them.
It’s thought that this is the case and that birds will return to their own, or other’s nest sites year after year, though this hasn’t been fully backed up with tagging data.
Some research suggests that the size of the bird plays a role, with site fidelity increasing in relation to the size of the hawk.
Cooper’s hawks were reported returning to a site for a maximum of three years to nest, and sometimes moving into abandoned nests of the similar, sharp-shinned hawk or goshawks.
7. They’re doing well
Even with so many threats to their survival, this is a species that’s thriving across most of its range. Cooper’s hawks are listed as of Least Concern by the IUCN and are even on the rise, as a result of the ban on DDT that was causing a decline in their number prior.
It’s estimated there are now at least a million breeding adults. 2 3
Cooper’s Hawk Fact-File Summary
Scientific Classification
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Accipitridae |
| Family: | Accipiter |
| Genus: | Accipiter |
| Species: | cooperii |
Fact Sources & References
- William Dunlap Sargent (1938), “Nest Parasitism of Hawks”, JSTOR.
- “Cooper’s Hawk”, Cornell Lab.
- “Cooper’s Hawk”, IUCN Red List.