Scientific Name: Accipiter cooperii

Other common names: Big Blue Darter, Chicken Hawk, Hen Hawk, Quail Hawk, Striker, Swift Hawk

Size: 14 - 21 inches, wingspan of 27 to 36 inches. Females weigh around 18 - 21 ounces, males weigh 12 - 14 ounces on average.

Appearance: About crow sized. The adult has blue-gray upperparts, top of the head is dark, with a white breast and underparts cross-barred with reddish/rust color. Tail is rounded (unlike a sharp-shinned hawk, whose tail is squared off) and has four or more black bars. Eyes can be anywhere from yellowish to a deep red. The immature looks much like the adult, only browner on the upper parts, and the belly is streaked vertically with brown, not horizontally with rust, as in the adult. Has (in proportion) short wings and a long tail.

Range: Resident throughout the State, breeds through southern Canada and the US, winters south Of the northern continental US states.

Habitat: deciduous and occasionally coniferous forests, open woodlands, especially near a source Of water. Less common at higher elevations or in dense forests.

Flight: a cross between flapping and gliding, often will circle rapidly, even on migration. Has been clocked by radar in flight at speeds ranging from 21 - 55 m.p.h.

Mating: monogamous

Nesting: The male selects the site: in coniferous forests, he will select the crotch of a tree, in deciduous forests, the nest will be by the trunk. Nest is about 10 - 60 feet off the ground, lined with outer bark strips and sometimes green coniferous needles. Sometimes the pair will take over an old crow's nest.

Eggs: Usually 4-5, although 3-6 have also been recorded. The eggs, laid between April and June, are bluish white to greenish white, usually nest stained, spotted with browns. Female does much of the incubation, eggs hatch in about 24 days

Diet: Mostly insectivorous birds, although will also eat small mammals such as mice, chipmunks. etc., often eat reptiles and amphibians. Some individuals like to hunt small chickens.

Hunting Technique: Low dash through the woods. They possess an uncanny ability to navigate through all kinds of brush at astoundingly high speeds. They will sometimes take their newly-caught prey to a nearby water source to drown it, then proceed to pluck the carcass prior to eating.

Status: Species Of Special Concern in WV; once more common or widespread in the state and is now thought to be declining, becoming more restricted in range or possibly extirpated. Coopers Hawks have been on the Audubon Blue List since 1986.

Naturalist Notes: Since a large portion of their diet is made up of insectivorous birds, this species is highly susceptible to pesticide poisonings, and was another casualty of the earlier use of DDT. Coopers Hawks and Sharp Shinned Hawks will not nest in the same area. Highly susceptible to stress, are very rarely used for falconry for that reason. Falconers using Coopers Hawks also carry an emergency resuscitation drug kit. Not long lived in captivity.