Cooper's Hawk mating pairs are monogamous, and most mate for life. The pairs breed once yearly and produce one brood of 3-6 chicks annually.
Nests are built in trees and constructed by the male using mostly sticks, bark chips and green twigs. Courtship mating flights involve slow wing beats and long glides with the wings held in a V. Males will make a bowing display to the female after pairing, and before beginning work on the nest, which he builds almost entirely by himself.
These birds are very skilled fliers, weaving in and out of cluttered tree canopies at high speeds in pursuit of their prey. They frequent city bird feeders to eat the feeding birds, not the seeds.(University of Michigan, 2010)
· A medium-sized hawk. Females larger than males. · broad, rounded wings and a very long tail · large head, broad shoulders, rounded tail · Steely blue-gray above with warm reddish bars on the underparts and thick dark bands on the tail.
Cooper’s Hawks are forest and woodland birds. However, they are finding city life to be advantageous with the large availability of other medium-sized city birds such as robins, pigeons and mourning doves, which the birds eat.
Cooper’s Hawks mostly eat other birds, however, they sometimes rob nests for chicks and eggs belonging to other bird species. They are also known to eat chipmunks, hares, mice, squirrels, and bats. (National Geographic, 2011)
Conservation Status:
Recovering. Population numbers are returning to stable after the cessation of DDT use and hunting. (National Geographic, 2011)