Beskrivelse: Very high flying Cooper's and there fore not so good a picture. But since there are not many photos of the Accipiter male courting the female by showing/spreading the under tail coverts - I suggest an up-load any way.
Credits to Peter Sunesen for info on 'the strange look' og my Cooper's... a feature also shown by European A. gentilis
Hi Tommy.
Happened to come by this Accipiter from San Diego.
However, imo it looks better for Cooper´s Hawk.
Reasons for that is:
1. Altough we are not able to see the nape, the dark crown
stands out and usually contrast with the paler nape.
2. The greyish ear-coverts (good contrast with the dark crown) suggest a male (male and female Sharp-shinned would have rufous cheeks)
Someone might argue that the white tail lack the wide tips of Cooper´s but that might just be due to wear. The important differences in tail feature of Cooper´s & Sharp-shinned is best view from the underside.
JanJ
Hi Jan!
You´re quite right, its a Cooper´s Hawk, the size of the head compered with the size of body, also indicates a Cooper´s. By the way, the species are easier to distinguish while flying ;-) I´ll see to that the name will be corrected.
Tommy
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