What kind of bird of prey is this ??!!

[Little Big Man MT Chris]

Sitting in the backyard enjoying the morning all sudden I see feathers just dropping on the ground and coming out of the tree. I’m like what the hell is going on look up in the tree and there is a hawk or something killed a some kinda bird and is just tearing it apart 15 yards from the back porch. Walked up to the tree took a picture of it and he just looked at me and now he’s going back to ripping that thing apart, but I’m no bird person. Sorry for the blurry pic but he’s in the shade.




Hes making a mess ha ha ha

 

[Ben Lamb]

Looks like a Peregrine? @BirdManMike would likely know.

 

[trb]

Cooper’s hawk

 

[antlerradar]

How big is it? Could be a Sharp-shinned hawk or a Cooper's Hawk.

 

[mdcrossbow]

I'd say Coopers Hawk also.

 

[Oak]

Cooper's an Sharp-shinned can be difficult to tell apart, but this is a Cooper's based on the head shape and contrast between the head cap and nape.

 

[Little Big Man MT Chris]

How big is it? Could be a Sharp-shinned hawk or a Cooper's Hawk.

It wasn’t very big , a foot maybe, was a smaller bird

 

[antlerradar]

It wasn’t very big , a foot maybe, was a smaller bird

That would make me think it is a Sharp-shinned hawk.

 

[hank4elk]

Looks like mature Cooper plumage, but size leads me to think Sharpie too.
Then again Cooper's are small anyway...Both are common here and fun to watch hunt through the pinions.

 

[Gellar]

Sharp shinned Hawk


Peregrine falcon


Like others have said, It’s hard to tell the difference between a sharp shinned and Cooper’s hawk without something for size comparison or them being next to each other. The tail is slightly different as well. Coopers and hawks prefer a more wooded habitat while Peregrines prefer areas with steep cliffs and open terrain. If a peregrine is in a tree it is usually a scrub cedar or juniper growing out of the side of a steep cliff. Peregrines rarely eat mammals or critters besides birds. They have adapted beaks, eyelids and talons for catching birds that they knocked out of flight by entering into a stoop. This is when they reach top speeds of 250 mph. Both species are found throughout North America but the breeding range is much more extensive for a Cooper’s hawks.

 

[brockel]

 

[gouch]

The easiest way to tell a small Coopers hawk from a large Sharp Shined hawk is by looking at the tail. The end of a Cooper's tail is rounded and the Sharp Shined has a squared tail. It is really noticeable if you are looking for the difference.

 

[FAIR CHASE]

Sharp-shinned ....

 

[Hunting Wife]

Cooper’s would be about crow sized. Sharp-shinned smaller- like a jay or something. Hard to tell from the photo because there’s no good size reference and hard to see details with the photo quality. But certainly one of those.

 

[mevertsen]

We have a sharp shinned around our place in the winter. He absolutely murders sparrows and starlings that eat our chicken feed. He hangs out in our firewood shed, and will "give you a flyover" when we go to get firewood, or when we're out feeding in the morning or evening.
Here he is on a t post. The lighter color of the post is about 6 inches. The wire is 2x4 horse fence. For reference


He's pretty cool.

 

[Caseknife]

Were the eyes noticeably red? If so it was a Cooper's. Male Cooper's are considerably smaller than females. How large is the branch that it is perched on? That would help a lot.

 

[beaglegun]

Sharp shinned hawk was in my chicken coop. Busted its head on roof and was dazed. I picked it up thinking it was dead but I guess it was knocked out. I shot a video

Release a Sharp-shinned Hawk

releasing a sharp shinned hawk

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