Cooper's Hawk
Accipiter cooperii

f4 @ 1/1600s, ISO:1600, Nikon D3S w 500mm

"Cooper's Hawk," Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Cooper's hawk (Accipiter cooperii) is a medium-sized hawk native to the North American continent and found from southern Canada to Mexico. This species is a member of the genus Accipiter, sometimes referred to as true hawks, which are famously agile, relatively small hawks common to wooded habitats around the world and also the most diverse of all diurnal raptor genera. As in many birds of prey, the male is smaller than the female. It is easily confused with the smaller but similar Sharp-shinned hawk.Immature birds can be readily identified at close range by their yellowish irises. As the bird attains full maturity over the course of 3-4 years, the iris slowly darkens into a reddish-brown hue. In both the light and dark morphs, the tail of the immature Red-tailed Hawk are patterned with numerous darker bars. Adults have eyes ranging from light orange to red, with males averaging darker in eye color, while those of juveniles are yellow. Among 370 breeding hawks from different parts of the range, 1-year-old males usually had light orange eyes and 1-year-old females usually yellow eyes.

Sagamore, Massachusetts

11/19/2013