Cooper’s Hawk vs Sharp Shinned Hawk: How To Tell The Difference?

Cooper Hawk (Furutaka) and sharp eagle (Eagle) are two of the most confusing raptors in North America. These falcons can be found almost everywhere in the Americas, and the smaller horned falcons migrate north to Alaska in the summer.

Both species are adapted to urban and suburban environments, and you might be lucky (or unlucky) enough to spot one of these professional bird hunters in your own backyard. So let’s get started, how do you tell the difference between a Cooper Eagle and a Sharp Eagle?

Cooper’s hawks are much larger than sharp shinned hawks and have proportionally larger blackheads rather than the small blackheads of ‘sharpie’. In flight, a larger head and rounded tail tip (rather than square) are good markings for a Cooper’s hawk.

It can be difficult to tell the difference between a Cooper’s hawk and a sharp-horned hawk in the wild, so don’t be too hard on yourself if you can’t make a positive identification every time. The best strategy is to look for multiple cues rather than just focusing on differences like their size.

Read on for a complete guide to differentiating these two easily confused American acccipiters.

cooper’s eagle

sharp eagle

Which is bigger, Cooper’s hawk or sharp hawk?

Cooper’s hawks are much larger than pointed hawks, although this is not always easy to notice in the wild. As a rough indication, Cooper’s hawks are about the size of crows, while sharp hawks are closer to the size of mourning doves.

Cooper Eagle Measurements

• Cooper hawks are 15.5-17.5 inches (40-45 cm) long
• Their wingspan is 28-34 inches (70-86 cm)
• Cooper Eagle weighs 13-19 oz (375-525 g)

sharp eagle measurements

• Sharp eagles measure 9.4-13.4 inches (24-34 cm) long
• Their wingspan is 16.9-22.1 inches (43-56 cm)
• Sharp Eagles are much lighter than Cooper’s Eagles, weighing only 3.1-7.7 oz (87-218 g)

Both Cooper’s and sharp-shinned hawk females are much larger than males. This makes it very unreliable to distinguish the two species based on size alone. This is due to the fact that the female horned hawk is close in size to the male Cooper’s hawk. Size alone isn’t always an easy way to tell the two species apart, but it’s a useful clue.

Read on to learn more important differences between Cooper Hawks and Sharpened Hawks.

cooper’s hawk in flight

Which is more common, Cooper’s hawks or Sharp-shinned hawks?

Between 2005 and 2014, there were an estimated 800,000 Cooper’s hawks in the United States and Canada. The sharp eagle population in the United States and Canada is estimated at 583,000 individuals, but this elusive species is notoriously difficult to count.

Both Cooper’s and sharp-shinned hawks are very widely distributed in North America. Cooper’s hawks are found in most of the lower 48 states, but they are only seen during the summer breeding season in the far north and wintering in the central states.

The razor-sharp eagle is found further north, all the way to Alaska. This species is more migratory than the Cooper’s hawk, although they occur year-round in the western and eastern United States.

Immature sharp eagle in flight

Other Differences Between Cooper’s Hawks and Sharp-shinned Hawks

It is best to use a variety of markings to distinguish Cooper’s hawks from sharp hawks rather than relying on any single characteristic.

Read on to learn some of the most important differences between these widely used American accipiters.

head

• These birds have a number of markings on their heads that can help you make a positive identification.
• Cooper’s hawks have much larger head proportions than sharp shinned hawks. Their heads also have a nice square profile when viewed from the side.
• Cooper’s hawks have red eyes instead of the sharp hawk’s orange eyes.
• The feathers on the nape of the Cooper’s hawks are lighter in color than the feathers on the head and back, which makes them look like dark feathers. The razor-sharp eagle is a uniform blue-gray color from the back all the way to the top of the head.

Close-up of Cooper Hawk

Close-up of a sharp eagle

tail shape

The tip of the tail provides another good way of distinguishing these two similar hawks. The tip of the pointed eagle’s tail is squared off with a slight notch in the middle. Cooper’s hawks have a more rounded silhouette. This difference in tail shape is most noticeable when the birds are in flight.

airfoil

Wing shape is another feature that helps differentiate the Cooper’s hawk from the shinned hawk. When viewed from below in flight, the Cooper’s hawk’s wing edges are relatively straight. The sharp-edged eagle’s wings appear to protrude forward, forming a curved profile at the leading and trailing edges.

cooper’s hawk flies with songbirds

prey selection

Both species are dedicated bird hunters, although they also prey on small mammals and insects. A Cooper’s hawk’s diet consists primarily of medium-sized songbirds such as blackbirds and American robins. However, they are able to prey on birds up to the size of grouse and crow, and mammals up to the size of a hare.

Sharp hawks tend to feed on smaller birds such as house sparrows and rushes. Of course, they are also powerful hunters, able to take down birds much larger than themselves, such as grouse.

call

Neither the Cooper’s hawk nor the sharp-edged hawk utter any songs, but they can be distinguished by their calls.Sharp hawks have a higher call and are best described as Hee hee hee. Cooper’s hawks make a similar call, but are best described as click click click.

These calls are mostly heard during the breeding season, while the rest of the year the birds are generally silent.

Sharp eagle perched on a tall tree

life expectancy

The oldest recorded Cooper’s hawk was only 20 years old when it died, although records show the birds only live an average of about 16 months after being strapped. The oldest recorded hawk was 13 years old, suggesting that the species may have a shorter lifespan than its larger relatives.

female cooper’s hawk and female sharp hawk

Apart from the obvious size difference, the females of the Cooper’s hawk and the horned hawk are very similar to the males. This means birders should look for characteristic differences in nape color, tail shape, and head size for good identification.

Both Cooper’s and sharp-shinned hawk females are much larger than males. This sexual dimorphism is typical of birds of prey, but the Accelerator takes it to an extreme. The females of these hawks are 30% larger than their mates.

It’s unclear why this is the case, but it may be to minimize competition for prey, or to better equip the females to defend their nests. An added benefit of the size difference is that, as the males focus on smaller prey, they also bring manageable food to the chicks.

Cooper’s hawk in tree with prey

juvenile cooper’s hawk and juvenile sharp hawk

Cooper’s and sharp-shinned hawks juveniles look very different from adults. Unfortunately, they also look very similar, making them difficult to identify.

Juveniles of both hawk species have a brown back, rather than the bluish-gray color of adults. Their underparts are white with bold brown teardrop markings from chest to belly.

The brown stripes on the underside of sharpened hawks tend to be bolder than those of immature Cooper’s hawks. Young pointed hawks also have a distinct white eyebrow stripe, which is a nice marker if you look closely at the bird.

An immature sharp eagle perched on a post