Cooper's Hawk    Accipiter cooperii

This crow-sized bird of prey occupies much of the southern and central portions of the United States.  Cooper’s hawks belong to a group of raptors called the Accipiters, and share this designation with the Sharp-shinned hawk and the Northern goshawk.  A long tail is one of the most easily recognized characteristics of this group.  In this species, the long tail has a broad white band at the tip, distinguishing it from the Sharp-Shinned Hawk, which is very similar in color and only slightly smaller in size than the Cooper’s hawk.     
 
When observed while flying, a Cooper’s hawk has rounded wings, with the head extending beyond the wrists.  The combination of short wings and a long tail makes for an extremely agile bird that can accelerate and turn very quickly.  Generally, Cooper’s hawks do not spend a large portion of their time flying or soaring like a      Red-tailed hawk.  Instead, they will fly out to capture prey such as birds or chipmunks then return to a perch for safety.  
  
Year round, Cooper’s hawks may be observed taking birds from backyard feeders where desirable food sources are abundant.  In the northern parts of its range, Cooper’s Hawks are migratory, and will travel south for the winter months to find more plentiful food sources in the absence of migratory songbirds.
  
The Cooper’s hawk is named for William Cooper, a New York ornithologist.  Many early biologists have species named after them, in honor of their discovery of a new species or to recognize their major contributions to science.  But like many birds of prey, the Cooper’s hawk experienced severe population declines as a result of the use of pesticides like DDT.  We fortunately have seen increases in numbers, which indicates that there has been a recovery, at least in part, from these devastating practices.   In 1993, the Cooper’s hawk was removed from the Illinois Endangered and Threatened Species List.