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| MEASUREMENTS: The Cooper’s Hawk has a body length of 15 - 19 inches, a wingspan of 2 1/4 - 3 1/4 feet, and weighs 8 - 21 ounces. The female is larger and her weight range does not overlap with the male bird. |
 HABITAT: Cooper’s Hawks live in dense canopied evergreen and deciduous forests or inriparian zones throughout southern Canada and the continental United States. The hawks in the northern part of their range will migrate as far south as Central America. |
| DIET: The Cooper’s Hawk eats small to medium birds and mammals. They hunt by patrolling forest edges and clearings, or from a perch. When prey is seen, the hawk pursues the prey with a great burst of speed. |
| REPRODUCTION: This hawk builds a broad, flat stick nest in a tree near the trunk. The female lays 3 - 6 eggs that are incubated for 30 - 34 days. The young fledge from the nest at 4 - 5 weeks of age. Birds are sexually mature in 2 years. |
| NAME DERIVATION: The scientific name comes from the Latin word accipere, meaning to take or seize and refers to a hawk or bird of prey, and from the Latinized name of the American zoologist William Cooper, for which the bird was named. The Cooper’s Hawk has also been called Chicken Hawk, Big Blue Darter, Hen Hawk, and Swift Hawk. |
INTERESTING FACTS:
- The Cooper’s Hawk can eat an amount of food equivalent to 12% of the bird’s body weight in one day. This is similar to a 120-pound person eating almost 14 pounds of food or 24 pounds of food if you weigh 200 pounds.
- In the fall, the female Cooper’s Hawk migrates south before the male, but in the spring the male’s migration north precedes the female’s migration.
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