Some sort of hawk... (1 Viewer)

[IDidiot]

Hi All,

It was a dark and drizzly morning on the central west coast of Florida. This bird didn't hang around long enough for me to get any kind of good pic for ID. Fairly large hawk, sitting high in a taller mangrove tree on the canal. I'm thinking it is a red-shouldered hawk, but would appreciate your opinion.

Thanks!
ID

 

[Deb Burhinus]

Looks like an imm Cooper’s Hawk ‘ID’.

 

[Deb Burhinus]

Just to add:

A Red-shouldered Hawk has either a black tail with narrow white bands (adult) or a finely barred tail. General structure and nape pattern (streaky white) rules out a Sharp-shinned. It’s clearly an accipter (long tail/short wing) which rules out any of the buteo ‘Hawks’, including Red-shouldered and Red-tailed. While Broad-winged Hawk is feasible in Florida in the Winter, this is another buteo sp which has shorter tail/longer wings with again a different tail pattern.

 

[KC Foggin]

Cooper's

 

[IDidiot]

Thanks! This is a new bird for my eBird list. Deb, thank you for the notes on what to look for. To be able to rule out the red shoulder is important... they are common here.

 

[Microtus]

Another for Cooper's