Cooper's Hawk

Astur cooperii

When fully grown, this hawk has deep red eyes, with tan bars on its white breast and slate gray coloring on top. Immature birds are less distinctive, having brown coloring instead of gray, with brown markings on the breast and yellow eyes. This hawk is smaller than the Red-tailed Hawk and has a longer tail in proportion to its body length. They mostly eat other birds of medium size, such as doves, starlings and pigeons, killing prey by squeezing them repeatedly. They are great fliers able to maneuver in tricky places, such as a dense forest. Keep an eye out for them perched high up on a bare branch or on telephone wires.

With many raptors (hawks, eagles, owls, falcons) the female is noticeably bigger in size. Not only is this true for the Cooper's Hawk, but the male is the primary builder of the nest along with providing food for the female and the chicks during the three-month period before the young leave the nest.