Hello all,
walking in my neighbourhood today in a suburb of Toronto, I spotted this accipiter up a tree. Size-wise, it seemed right for either a male Cooper's Hawk or a female Sharp-shinned Hawk. The notched tail certainly seems good for a Sharp-shinned, but in this case I wonder if the bird isn't missing a tail feather or two. As I was watching it, the nape seemed paler than the crown, and somewhat hackly, which fits better for a Cooper's. Unfortunately it was facing away from me when I spotted it, and it flew off before I could move around to get a picture from the front, so the photos I have don't show many key field marks. I see Cooper's Hawks far more often than Sharp-shinned Hawks, so if this one is a Sharp-shinned, I'd like to be sure. What are your thoughts?
walking in my neighbourhood today in a suburb of Toronto, I spotted this accipiter up a tree. Size-wise, it seemed right for either a male Cooper's Hawk or a female Sharp-shinned Hawk. The notched tail certainly seems good for a Sharp-shinned, but in this case I wonder if the bird isn't missing a tail feather or two. As I was watching it, the nape seemed paler than the crown, and somewhat hackly, which fits better for a Cooper's. Unfortunately it was facing away from me when I spotted it, and it flew off before I could move around to get a picture from the front, so the photos I have don't show many key field marks. I see Cooper's Hawks far more often than Sharp-shinned Hawks, so if this one is a Sharp-shinned, I'd like to be sure. What are your thoughts?
