Saw this bird high up in a tree on a country road on my way to work a couple weeks ago. At first sight, I thought "Red Tail", but as I got closer, realized that the tail was too long, so I pulled over, grabbed the camera, and got out of the car. The bird sat for about 10 seconds before deciding it really didn't like having a big white lens pointed at it.
On my first look at the shots, I immediately thought "Red-shouldered Hawk", based solely on the rufous banding on the breast. The more I looked at the shots, though, the less sure I became. First, the eyes look red to me; second, I think I see a hint of a gray "cap" on the head; third, the markings on the tail are all wrong (Red-shouldered would have broad black bands and thin white, not the similar-sized bands on this bird). Somehow, the beak in the perched shot looks more substantial to me than the beak in the flight shot, which just confused things further.
So, after looking at several guides, I think I've settled on a really big female Cooper's Hawk. My original estimate of size was, no doubt, pretty far off, but this bird still looked BIG. Can't make all the physical traits match up with anything else, honestly.
I spent a bit of time working another Cooper's today (an adult, but probably smaller than this one), and I'm pretty sure this one is also a Cooper's. The markings are all identical, and I think the patterning on the tail and coloration of the head/eyes aren't right for a Red-shouldered.
Rich, I don't think it's a Sharp-shinned either. The wing profile and the apparent roundness of the tail when spread, appear to me to strongly suggest Coopers over the Sharp-shinned.
Cooper's Hawk (I think)
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