All accipiters, including the sharp-shinned hawk, and its close relative the Cooper's hawk, have distinctive flight patterns that are useful in identifying them, even at a distance.
|
|
At 315 Bowery, once CBGB, there were flying squirrels and meadow voles; around 881 Seventh Avenue, Carnegie Hall, the sharp-shinned hawk and black-capped chickadee found homes.
|
|
I don't keep a life list of the species I've encountered, and I can never tell the difference between a Cooper's hawk and a sharp-shinned hawk without looking them up.
|
|
Others, like the sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus) prefer to chase through dense woodlands using short powerful wings to weave past obstacles, their long tails a counterbalance for short, sharp turns and high-speed, bloody ambushes.
|
|
Predators of ringed kingfishers include the white-tailed hawk, sharp-shinned hawk, bald eagle, golden eagle and peregrine falcon.
|
|
Puerto Rican Broad-winged Hawk and Puerto Rican Sharp-shinned Hawk Recovery Plan. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Atlanta, Georgia. 30pp.
|
|
Johnson, E. I., Wolfe, J. D., & Hartgerink, J. E. (2012). Barred Owl consumes Sharp-shinned Hawk. The Journal of Louisiana Ornithology, 88, 21.Hertzel, A.X. (2003).
|
|
With a chick (nominate group) The sharp-shinned hawk is sometimes separated into four species, with the northern group (see distribution) retaining both the scientific name and the common name: sharp- shinned hawk (A. striatus). In addition to the nominate taxon (A. s. striatus), it includes subspecies perobscurus, velox, suttoni, madrensis, fringilloides, and venator. The three remaining taxa, each considered a monotypic species if split, are the white-breasted hawk (A.
|
|
Several species of bird are also known to follow Panmanian white-faced capuchins looking for food. These include the double- toothed kite, the white hawk and the sharp-shinned hawk.
|
|
Field identification of Accipiters in North America. Birding, 16: 251-263. The other two species in North America are the smaller sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus) and the larger northern goshawk (Accipiter gentilis).
|
|
The Puerto Rican sharp-shinned hawk, (Accipiter striatus venator), falcón de sierra or gavilán pecho rufo in Spanish, is an endemic subspecies of the North American sharp-shinned hawk, occurring only in Puerto Rico. Discovered in 1912 and described as a distinct sub-species, it has been placed on the United States Fish and Wildlife Service list of endangered species because of its rapidly dwindling population in Puerto Rico. It can be found in the Toro Negro State Forest.Bosques de Puerto Rico: Bosque Estatal de Toro Negro.
|
|
Not to mention numerous mammalian carnivores, at least ten avian predators often hunt them and they are among the most regular prey species for some smaller raptors, i.e. the sharp-shinned hawk and eastern screech-owl.
|
|
Do responses of galliform birds vary adaptively with predator size? Animal Cognition, 8(3), 200-210. Many studies have contrasted the diet of the Cooper's and sharp-shinned hawk in other areas as well, with the sharp-shinned hawk much more regularly selecting birds weighing under about , a fair amount overlap in birds of and weight classes but birds over this weight range are increasingly more often taken almost exclusively by the Cooper's.Roth, T. C., Lima, S. L., & Vetter, W. E. (2006). Determinants of predation risk in small wintering birds: the hawk’s perspective.
|
|
There are 136 species of birds recorded in the park, 23 of which are endemic. Some examples are the Puerto Rican sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus venator), which is an endangered species, and the Puerto Rican emerald (Chlorostilbon maugaeus).
|
|
With the sharp-shinned hawk, the Cooper's locally also shared a liking for American robins and black-headed grosbeaks (Pheucticus melanocephalus). However, unlike either other Accipiter in the Chiricahuas, the Cooper's hawks regularly took chipmunks and lizards as well. Furthermore, the nests of the Cooper's and goshawks were fairly evenly spaced, at about apart, indicating that they maintain exclusive territories (almost as if within the same species), while sharp-shinned hawk nests were closer to goshawk nests but in much denser habitats. When chickens were experimentally exposed to each of the three American Accipiters, they reacted the most aggressively to the sharp-shinned hawk (as they pose little to no threat to adult poultry), intermediately to Cooper's and with strong attempts to evade and escape when exposed to the goshawk, which is very capable and ready to dispatch adult poultry.Palleroni, A., Hauser, M., & Marler, P. (2005).
|
|
The breeding ranges of the rufous-thighed and sharp-shinned hawk is entirely allopatric. This allopatry combined with differences in plumage (see appearance) and, apparently, certain measurements, has been the background for the split, but hard scientific data are presently lacking (AOU).
|
|
Fewer dramatic ebbs were detected during the height of DDT use in the western part of North America overall, perhaps because of less overall reliance on bird prey.Jones, S. (1979). The accipiters-Goshawk, Cooper's Hawk, Sharp-shinned Hawk. U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
|
|
Perched on tree limb. The Puerto Rican sharp-shinned hawk is a small forest hawk measuring approximately . It has a dark blue/slate gray upper area with reddish-orange stripes on its breast. Immature birds have a brownish hue above and are striped below.
|
|
Genetic testing has indicated that the Cooper's hawk is quite closely related to the northern goshawk, with the similar superficial characteristics to the Cooper's of the sharp-shinned hawk, a close relative of the Old World sparrowhawk, apparently obtained through convergent evolution.Newton, I. (2010). The sparrowhawk.
|
|
Geographic variation in morphology of four species of migratory raptors. Journal of Raptor Research, 38(4), 334-342. It is easily confused with the smaller but similar Sharp-shinned hawk. The species was named in 1828 by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in honor of his friend and fellow ornithologist, William Cooper.
|
|
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 60(2), 195-204. Also, the sharp-shinned hawk appears to hunt more so birds that dwell at the canopy level in the woodlands (as opposed to ground to shrub height-dwelling birds) within the forest and prefers to attack in heavier cover than the Cooper's seemingly.
|
|
Christopher Helm. Ferguson-Lees, J., D. Christie, P. Burton, K. Franklin & D. Mead (2001). Raptors of the World. Christopher Helm. Storer (1952) suggested that the southernmost populations of sharp-shinned hawk were paler below, thus approaching chionogaster.Storer, R. W. (1952). Variation in the resident Sharp-shinned Hawks of Mexico. Condor 54: 283-9.
|
|
The Puerto Rican sharp-shinned hawk feeds primarily on small birds ranging in size from tanagers to hummingbirds. It requires a home range of approximately . Females lay two to three white eggs in March or April and incubate them while the male searches for food. Average incubation period is approximately 32 days.
|
|
Puerto Rican sharp-shinned hawk, a natural predator of the elfin woods warbler The survival of the elfin woods warbler faces two main threats, predation and the destruction or alteration of suitable habitat. Confirmed native predators are the pearly-eyed thrasher (Margarops fuscatus), the Puerto Rican sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus venator) and the extirpated white-necked crow (Corvus leucognaphalus), while unconfirmed native predators include two endemic snakes and several carnivores (from fossil records). Introduced species, such as cats (Felis domesticus), dogs (Canis lupus familiaris), black rats (Rattus rattus) and small Asian mongooses (Herpestes javanicus), are also potential nest predators. These species have proliferated due to the presence of human-developed facilities, mainly for communication purposes, in the Maricao State Forest and El Yunque National Forest.
|
|
Pathak, V. (2018). Phylogeny of the Accipiters (Doctoral dissertation, Long Island University, The Brooklyn Center). It appears that the Cooper's hawk was the earliest Accipiter to colonize North America with a well-defined fossil record dating back perhaps 0.5-1 million years. Fossil evidence shows then that the goshawk came second and, despite the considerably wider range of the sharp-shinned hawk compared to the other two species, the ancestors of the sharp-shinned hawk came over the Bering Land Bridge last.Brodkorb, P. (1964). Catalogue of fossil birds: Part 2 (Anseriformes through Galliformes).Emslie, S. D., Speth, J. D., & Wiseman, R. N. (1992). Two prehistoric puebloan avifaunas from the Pecos Valley, southeastern New Mexico. Journal of Ethnobiology, 12(1), 83-115.
|
|
The Southwestern Naturalist, 56(1), 17-23. Although more adaptable in habitat than the sharp-shinned hawk, studies from Pennsylvania have indicated that the species still more often than not prefers sizeable tracts of woodland for breeding and migrating to fragmented, developed areas.Goodrich, L.J. (2010). Stopover ecology of autumn-migrating raptors in the central Appalachians .
|
|
Riding a red-tailed hawk Adult mockingbirds can fall victim to birds of prey such as the great horned owl, screech owl and sharp-shinned hawk, though their tenacious behavior makes them less likely to be captured. Scrub-jays also have killed and eaten mockingbirds. Snakes rarely capture incubating females. Fledgelings have been prey to domestic cats, red-tailed hawks, and crows.
|
|
Birds and birding at Cape May. Stackpole Books. In Cape May, Cooper's hawks are the third most commonly recorded raptor species in passage behind the sharp-shinned hawk and the American kestrel (Falco sparverius) but are far less than numerous in migration or in winter in the nearby Delaware Bayshore locations of New Jersey than various other raptor species.Sutton, C., & Kerlinger, P. (1997).
|
|
Sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus), Cooper's hawk (Accipiter cooperii), and broad-winged hawk (Buteo platypterus) have nested in forested habitat on the refuge. Northern goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) and red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) nest in the area. During migration (primarily autumn), many raptors move through the refuge. Northern harriers are the only raptor species thought to breed in the estuarine communities of the refuge.
|
|
The breeding range of the white-breasted hawk and the sharp-shinned hawk is entirely allopatric, although the wintering range only partially overlaps. This allopatry combined with differences in plumage (see appearance) and, apparently, certain measurements, has been the background for the split, but hard scientific data is presently lacking (AOU). Disregarding field guides, most material published in recent years (e.g. AOU, Ferguson-Lees et al. p.
|
|
The red warbler is presumably hunted by small hawks such as the sharp-shinned hawk, and its nest raided by wrens, rodents, raccoons, feral cats and snakes. Isospora cardellinae is a protozoan species that has been isolated from a red warbler from Nevado de Toluca National Park, Mexico. It is a parasite that lives in cells in the villi of the bird's small intestine.
|
|
BioScience, 23(5), 300-305. Subsequent to the prohibition of DDT use in North America, the population increased exponentially in the 1980s and 1990s and ultimately was thought to stabilize. Data from Hawk Mountain Sanctuary shows that the Cooper's hawks has recovered from DDT more gradually than the sharp-shinned hawk here.Bolgiano, N. C. (1997). Pennsylvania CBC counts of Sharp-shinned and Cooper’s Hawks.
|
|
A sharp-shinned hawk at Hawk Ridge The concentration of migratory raptors makes Hawk Ridge a valuable site for conducting ornithological research. Hofslund and the Duluth Bird Club began annual bird counts in 1951. Banding started in 1972 and has taken place every year since. From 1972 to 2009, researchers and volunteers banded 99,505 raptors; the most numerous raptors banded are sharp-shinned hawks and saw-whet owls.
|
|
The plain-breasted hawk (Accipiter ventralis) is a small hawk described from Venezuela to western Bolivia. It is usually considered a subspecies of the sharp-shinned hawk by most taxonomists, including the American Ornithological Society, but the taxonomy is far from resolved, with some authorities considering the southern taxa to represent three separate species: white- breasted hawk (A. chionogaster), plain-breasted hawk (A. ventralis), and rufous-thighed hawk (A. erythronemius).
|
|
The white-breasted hawk (Accipiter chionogaster) is a small hawk found from southern Mexico to Nicaragua. It is usually considered a subspecies of the sharp-shinned hawk by most taxonomists, including the American Ornithological Society, but the taxonomy is far from resolved, with some authorities considering the southern taxa to represent three separate species: white- breasted hawk (A. chionogaster), plain-breasted hawk (A. ventralis), and rufous-thighed hawk (A. erythronemius).
|
|
The legs are long and very slender (hence the common name) and yellow. The hooked bill is black and the cere is yellowish. The remaining plumage varies depending on group: The white-breasted hawk resembles the sharp-shinned hawk, but upperparts darker (often appears almost black), thighs whitish-buff and underparts and cheeks entirely white. Juveniles have darker upperparts and distinctly finer streaking below than juveniles of the nominate group.
|
|
Hull, J. M., Pitzer, S., Fish, A. M., Ernest, H. B., & Hull, A. C. (2012). Differential migration in five species of raptors in central coastal California. Journal of Raptor Research, 46(1), 50-56. Interestingly, the sharp-shinned hawk (despite the even more dimorphic migration times between sexes) showed no strong difference in distance on migration between the sexes, unlike female Cooper's which sometimes can move considerably further than males.
|
|
The sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus) is a small hawk, with males being the smallest hawks in the United States and Canada, but with the species averaging larger than some Neotropical species, such as the tiny hawk. The taxonomy is far from resolved, with some authorities considering the southern taxa to represent three separate species: white-breasted hawk (A. chionogaster), plain-breasted hawk (A. ventralis), and rufous-thighed hawk (A. erythronemius).
|
|
To supplement their incomes, the rangers trapped predators such as coyote, fox, lynx, mountain lion, and wolverine for their furs, a practice that survived until 1925. Predator control continued however; 43 mountain lions were killed in Yosemite by the state lion hunter in 1927. Cooper's hawk and sharp-shinned hawk were hunted to local extinction. Bighorn sheep, which were driven locally extinct through hunting and disease, have been reintroduced in the east of the park.
|
|
The last known human to die in California due to a grizzly attack in the wild occurred in Big Basin when, in 1875, William Waddell, a lumber mill owner, was killed near Waddell Creek. Bird life is abundant throughout the park. Steller's jays and acorn woodpeckers are both seen and heard, and the dark-eyed junco is widespread. Less obvious are the brown creeper, Anna's hummingbird, northern flicker, olive-sided flycatcher and sharp-shinned hawk.
|
|
Birds of the Veracruz dry forests include the sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus), merlin (Falco columbarius), white-winged dove (Zenaida asiatica), lesser roadrunner (Geococcyx velox), Mexican sheartail (Doricha eliza), Couch's kingbird (Tyrannus couchii), Swainson’s thrush (Catharus ustulatus), red-eyed vireo (Vireo olivaceous), magnolia warbler (Dendroia magnolia), and blue-black grassquit (Vilatinia jacarina). The area is rich in herpetofauna such as the black-spotted newt (Notophthalmus meridionalis), and Tabasco mud turtle (Kinosternon acutum).
|
|
The double dune system encompasses marine sand beach, primary dunes, secondary dunes, swales, fens, cranberry bogs, and oak scrub. Many rare plants, including several orchids, occur on the refuge. Long-tailed ducks, white-winged scoter, common loon and horned grebe spend winter off the refuge shore, while shorebirds, songbirds and raptors are present during spring and fall. Merlin, Cooper's hawk, kestrel, sharp-shinned hawk, and peregrine falcon pass over the dunes during migration.
|
|
Measurements given here are for sharp-shinned hawk, but they are comparable for the remaining species.Raptors of the World by Ferguson-Lees, Christie, Franklin, Mead, and Burton. Houghton Mifflin (2001), Adults have short broad wings and a medium-length tail banded in blackish and gray with the tip varying among individuals from slightly notched through square to slightly rounded (often narrowly tipped white). The remiges (typically only visible in flight) are whitish barred blackish.
|
|
After hatching, the young are brooded for 16 to 23 days by the female, while the male defends the territory and catches prey. The young fledge at the age of about a month and rely on their parents for feeding and protection another four weeks. The breeding behavior of the plain-breasted hawk is comparably poorly known, but based on the available knowledge they appear to differ little from that of the sharp- shinned hawk.
|
|
Measurements given here are for the sharp-shinned hawk, but they are comparable for the remaining species.Raptors of the World by Ferguson-Lees, Christie, Franklin, Mead, and Burton. Houghton Mifflin (2001), Adults have short broad wings and a medium-length tail banded in blackish and gray with the tip varying among individuals from slightly notched through square to slightly rounded (often narrowly tipped white). The remiges (typically only visible in flight) are whitish barred blackish.
|
|
After hatching, the young are brooded for 16 to 23 days by the female, while the male defends the territory and catches prey. The young fledge at the age of about a month and rely on their parents for feeding and protection another four weeks. The breeding behavior of the taxa are comparably poorly known, but based on the available knowledge they appear to differ little from that of the sharp-shinned hawk.
|
|
Pioneers named Strawberry Mountain after observing prolific wild strawberries growing in a nearby valley. The area has extremely diverse ecological composition, which includes five of seven major life zones in North America. Indigenous populations of Rocky Mountain Elk exist as well as mule deer, antelope, black bear, cougar, California bighorn sheep, ruffed and blue grouse, pileated woodpecker, sharp-shinned hawk, bald eagle, pine marten, mink, beaver. There are 378 animal and 22 fish species present.
|
|
1–16 but the record is twelve years and nine months. This nuthatch's responses to predators may be linked to a reproductive strategy. A study compared the white-breasted nuthatch with the red-breasted nuthatch in terms of the willingness of males to feed incubating females on the nest when presented with models of predators. The models were of a sharp- shinned hawk, which hunts adult nuthatches, and a house wren, which destroys eggs.
|
|
Occasionally, the barring to the lower belly and flanks may appear duskier. The white morph has bluish-grey upperparts (similar to sharp-shinned hawk), but its underparts are all white except for its rufous thighs. The rare dark morph, the only morph which sometimes lacks rufous thighs, is entirely sooty (occasionally with slight white barring to belly and faint grey bands in tail). The underparts of the females average paler than males of the same morph.
|
|
The rufous-thighed hawk (Accipiter erythronemius) is a small hawk found from southeastern Bolivia and southern Brazil to Paraguay, Uruguay and northern Argentina. It is usually considered a subspecies of the sharp-shinned hawk by most taxonomists, including the American Ornithological Society, but the taxonomy is far from resolved, with some authorities considering the southern taxa to represent three separate species: white-breasted hawk (A. chionogaster), plain-breasted hawk (A. ventralis), and rufous-thighed hawk (A. erythronemius).
|
|
Olson, S. L. (2006). Reflections on the systematics of Accipiter and the genus for Falco superciliosus Linnaeus. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 126:69–70. Genetic studies of three Asian Accipiter species showed that they may not be a monophyletic group, with various clades divisions outside traditional subfamily lines, with even the sharp-shinned hawk-like and aptly named tiny hawk (Accipiter supercilious) appearing to cluster outside of the genus nearer very dissimilar genera like Buteo and Milvus.
|
|
Shikra Accipiter badius feeding on a garden lizard in Hyderabad, India. The Accipitrinae are the subfamily of the Accipitridae often known as the "true" hawks, including all members of Accipiter and the closely related genera Melierax, Urotriorchis, Erythrotriorchis and Megatriorchis. The large and widespread genus Accipiter includes goshawks, sparrowhawks, the sharp-shinned hawk and others. They are primarily woodland birds that hunt by sudden dashes from a concealed perch, with long tails, broad wings and high visual acuity facilitating this lifestyle.
|
|
They may be taken by nearly every variety of North American accipitrid, from the smallest, the sharp-shinned hawk, to one of the two largest, the golden eagle, most every North American falcon from the smallest, the American kestrel, to the largest, the gyrfalcon, and almost all owl species from the northern pygmy owl to the snowy owl. Overall, 28 raptorial bird species are known to hunt American robins.Bent, A. C. (1938). Life histories of North American birds of prey, pt. 2.
|
|
The Puerto Rican amazon is critically endangered with fewer than 100 left in the wild. The Puerto Rican broad-winged hawk and Puerto Rican sharp-shinned hawk are both very rare. Many birds visit the island during their annual migrations. The Puerto Rican boa inhabits the lower slopes of the mountains, about 14 species of lizard are found in the forest and 13 species of small tree frogs known as coquí live in the canopy and are endemic to the island.
|
|
The habitat used by the two species in Missouri was less distinct (i.e. similar tree species used). However, the sharp-shinned hawk nests in Missouri were at much higher elevations, i.e. above sea level, than those of the Cooper's (which were at a mean elevation of ; more surprisingly the stand density was higher here for Cooper's, at a mean of 935.7 trees per ha than those used by sharp-shins, at a mean of 599.3 trees per ha.Wiggers, E. P. & Kritz, P.J. (1991).
|
|
While the incubation period is about two weeks, nestlings, fed by both parents, grow rapidly, developing in 12 days from peanut-sized hatchlings to completely feathered adult-sized birds. Ticks, blowflies, and lice are some of the parasites with which Bicknell's thrush must contend. The red squirrel is the main predator of eggs and nestlings, according to breeding ecology. Predators confirmed to hunt nesting adults have consisted of the sharp-shinned hawk, the long-tailed weasel, and the northern saw-whet owl.
|
|
Many declining species either occasionally or commonly occur on the refuge including the American golden plover, prothonotary warbler, painted bunting, and Hudsonian godwit. The refuge attracts 15 species of raptors during the fall and spring migration periods, including the osprey, rough-legged buzzard, Swainson's hawk, Northern Harrier, sharp-shinned hawk, and Cooper's hawk. The refuge provides excellent wintering habitat for Bald Eagles, particularly along Lake Texoma. Nesting raptors include the red-tailed hawk, red-shouldered hawk, Mississippi kite, American kestrel, and the broad- winged hawk.
|
|
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH). Sometimes Cooper's is considered to look like a "flying cross" in comparison to the sharp-shins. Accipiter hawks of all species are seen mostly flying with quick, consecutive wing beats and a short glide (sometimes abbreviated as “flap-flap- glide”), though the species may also soar as well. However, the sharp-shinned hawk has a more buoyant flight with faster wing beats than the Cooper's and soars with flatter wings (although again variations in the field make these characteristics far from foolproof).
|
|
Birds that are specialized predators of other birds include certain accipiters and falcons. General features of avian avivores include a skull form which is well adapted for grasping and crushing with the beak, although not especially well structured for neck twisting motions. Bird-eating raptors also tend to show greater sexual dimorphism than other raptors, with the females being larger than the males. Some avian avivores such as the shikra, besra, Eurasian sparrowhawk, and sharp-shinned hawk catch their prey by flying from cover in a tree or bush, taking their prey unawares.
|
|
Puerto Rican broad- winged hawks (Buteo platypterus brunnescens) like this one are part of Toro Negro's fauna There are 30 species of birds reported, including 6 endemic species and two that are endangered: the Puerto Rican sharp-shinned hawk (Vernacular Spanish: Falcón de sierra; Taxonomy: Accipiter striatus venator) and Puerto Rican broad-winged hawk (Vernacular Spanish: Guaragüao de bosque; Taxonomy: Buteo platypterus brunnescens). The Puerto Rican parrot (Vernacular Spanish: Cotorra puertorriqueña; Taxonomy: Amazona vittata), a critically endangered species, has also been seen in this forest."Animals in the Toro Negro Forest". Amy M. Armstrong.
|
|
The legs are long and very slender (hence the common name) and yellow. The hooked bill is black and the cere is yellowish. The rufous-thighed hawk resembles the sharp- shinned hawk, but upperparts are darker, streaking to underparts rufous or dusky, cheeks are typically with a clear rufous patch (occasionally lacking almost entirely) and iris is yellow (contra illustrations in some books). Juveniles resemble juveniles of sharp-shinneds, but streaking to the underparts are typically restricted to throat and central underparts, with flanks scaled or barred (often also the belly).
|
|
Local wildlife includes the American badger, American black bear, bobcat, coyote, Colorado chipmunk, crow, garter snakes, gray fox, mountain cottontail rabbit, mountain lion, mule deer, pocket gopher, porcupine, skunk, and tadpoles. Birds found in the area include the golden eagle, peregrine falcon, sharp-shinned hawk, black-billed magpie, red-tailed hawk, pinyon jay, and western tanager. According to the United States Census Bureau, Castle Rock has an area of , all of it land. Lying within the Front Range Urban Corridor, the town is part of the greater Denver metropolitan area.
|
|
In the Black Hills, although prey species were seldom identified, evidence showed that most regularly selected prey were assorted icterids.Stephens, R. M., & Anderson, S. H. (2002). Conservation assessment for the Cooper’s Hawk and the Sharp-shinned Hawk in the Black Hills National Forest, South Dakota and Wyoming. USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Region, Custer, ND. Even meadowlarks, such as the eastern meadowlark (Sturnella magna) which was the third most often selected prey in Ithaca, New York, and bobolinks (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) are taken despite their preference for grasslands well outside the typical habitats of Cooper's hawks.
|
|
Click for video of feeding sharp-shinned hawk These birds surprise and capture most of their prey from cover or while flying quickly through dense vegetation. They are adept at navigating dense thickets, although this hunting method is often hazardous to the hawk. The great majority of this hawk's prey are small birds, especially various songbirds such as sparrows, wood-warblers, finches, wrens, nuthatches, tits, icterids and thrushes. Birds caught range in size from a Anna's hummingbird to a ruffed grouse and virtually any bird within this size range is potential prey.
|
|
The Arc Dome Wilderness is a protected wilderness area in the Toiyabe Range of Nye County, in the central section of the state of Nevada in the western United States. It covers an area of approximately , Nevada's largest Wilderness area. Attractions include the -long Toiyabe Crest Trail offers travelers atop the ridge of the Toiyabe Range, including within the Arc Dome Wilderness. Wildlife in the Wilderness includes Columbia spotted frog, mule deer, sharp-shinned hawk, golden eagle, Clark's nutcracker, sagebrush sparrow, sagebrush vole, black-throated gray warbler, yellow warbler, northern goshawk, big brown bat, and Great Basin skink.
|
|
The organization has worked with more than 35 raptor species in the wild in this part of the world. The West Indies Project focuses on raptors found only on the Caribbean Islands. Current research and conservation efforts are directed at the critically endangered Ridgway's hawk in the Dominican Republic, the Puerto Rican Sharp- shinned Hawk, the Grenada hook-billed kite confined to the island of Grenada, and the Cuban kite, endemic to Cuba and among the rarest species of raptor in the world. The Pan Africa Raptor Conservation Program is designed to help stem the loss of biodiversity in Africa.
|
|
U of Minnesota Press. The sharp-shinned hawk usually evidences a slimmer, slighter look, with more dainty features, and has relatively longer wings and a shorter and more squared tail with a much thinner white tip. Other slight difference may be noted in plumage via the sharp-shins lacking the capped appearance of adult Cooper's (being more hooded) and being generally slightly darker above. Juvenile sharp-shins, upon relatively leisurely study, can be seen to differ from juvenile Cooper's by having clearer supercilia, browner cheeks and less extensive whitish mottling above and also coarser streaking below extending more to belly.
|
|
Nonetheless, the Cooper's hawk was second only to sharp-shinned hawk as the most frequently recorded species seen migrating at nine major hawkwatchs throughout the western United States (and 1 in Canada) and, unlike the sharp- shinned, has shown a trend of increase in numbers overall in recent decades, despite some declines in numbers at Lipan Point and Bridger Range.Smith, J. P., Farmer, C. J., Hoffman, S. W., Kaltenecker, G. S., Woodruff, K. Z., & Sherrington, P. F. (2008). Trends in autumn counts of migratory raptors in western North America. State of North America’s birds of prey.
|
|
As air masses move off the Great Plains, they sink into the Missouri River valley. The prevailing winds across the floodplain then hit the sharp rise of the Loess Hills, creating thermal updrafts that raptors use to make their way to and from breeding grounds. Raptors can often be viewed forming "kettles", where many birds will create a funnel-like formation as they utilize the same thermal. Typical species found during the months from September to December include red-tailed hawk, sharp- shinned hawk, peregrine falcon, ferruginous hawk, Swainson's hawk, Cooper's hawk, osprey, northern harrier, American kestrel, and bald eagle.
|
|
Pronghorns are colloquially referred to as antelope due to their resemblance, but are not closely related to Old World antelopes Mammals that roam this park include black bears, coyotes, skunks, bats, elk, foxes, bobcats, badgers, ring-tailed cats, pronghorns, and cougars. Desert cottontails, kangaroo rats and mule deer are commonly seen by visitors. At least 273 species of birds inhabit the park. A variety of hawks and eagles are found, including the Cooper's hawk, the northern goshawk, the sharp-shinned hawk, the red-tailed hawk, the golden and bald eagles, the rough-legged hawk, the Swainson's hawk, and the northern harrier.
|
|
The California gnatcatcher inhabits undergrowth throughout the park. The park is one of the largest sanctuaries in coastal Orange County for mammals such as coyotes and bobcats. Several sensitive bird, small mammal, and reptile species find refuge in the park, including California gnatcatcher, pond turtle, San Diego horned lizard, orange-throated whiptail, Pacific pocket mouse, great egret, white-tailed kite, northern harrier, sharp-shinned hawk, Cooper's hawk, ferruginous hawk, cactus wren, yellow warbler, and yellow-breasted chat. Up to five bald eagles have been counted in Aliso Canyon, and peregrine falcons have been sighted flying along the canyon walls.
|
|
There have been observed a total of 171 bird species within the city limits. The most commonly encountered avifauna include the house sparrow, house finch, Brewer's blackbird, California towhee, spotted towhee, oak titmouse, acorn woodpecker, and California quail. Raptor population densities in the Conejo Valley, which therefore has some of the highest quantities of raptors in the U.S. Some of the raptors found in the City of Thousand Oaks include the golden eagle, red-tailed hawk, Cooper's hawk, marsh hawk, sharp-shinned hawk, red-shouldered hawk, ferruginous hawk, pigeon hawk, prairie falcon, turkey vulture, barn owl, great horned owl, screech owl, American kestrel, and the white-tailed kite.
|
|
Mount Taylor and the surrounding area is home to large elk herds, mule deer, black bear, mountain lion and wild turkey. Bird species are particularly diverse in the area and include great blue heron, white-faced ibis, canvasback, common merganser, rough-legged hawk, red-tailed hawk, ferruginous hawk, sharp-shinned hawk, osprey, golden eagle, barn owl, great horned owl, and kestrel, whip-poor-will, white-throated swift, western kingbird, warbling vireo, western meadowlark, house finch, swifts, swallows, prairie falcon, gray-headed junco, Steller's jay, and pinyon jay. Furthermore, the area offers excellent raptor-nesting habitat on the various cliffs that spill down into the Rio Puerco valley below.
|
|
Likewise corvids such as the American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) and blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata),E.g. : Bachynski & Kadlec (2003) and large climbing rodents, notably the American red squirrel (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus). Carnivores, in particular members of the Musteloidea, including the striped skunk (Mephitis mephitis), long-tailed weasel (Mustela frenata) and common raccoon (Procyon lotor); the red fox (Vulpes vulpes); and domestic or feral cats, are similarly opportunistic predators. All these pose little threat to the nimble, non-nesting adults, which are taken by certain smallish and agile birds such as the American kestrel (Falco sparverius) and Cooper's hawk (Accipiter cooperii), and the sharp-shinned hawk (A. striatus).
|
|
Migratory bird species include plumbeous kite (Ictinia plumbea), sharp-shinned hawk (Accipiter striatus), pale-vented pigeon (Columba cayennensis), dark-billed cuckoo (Coccyzus melacoryphus), dark-billed cuckoo (Nctibius griseus), short-tailed nighthawk (Lurocalis semitorquatus), rufous nightjar (Caprimulgus rufus), planalto tyrannulet (phyllomyias fasciatus), small-billed elaenia (Elaenia parvirostris), olivaceous elaenia (Elaenia mesoleuca), tawny-crowned pygmy tyrant (Euscarthmus meloryphus), bran-colored flycatcher (Myiophobus fasciatus), Euler's flycatcher (Lathrotriccus euleri), Swainson's flycatcher (Myiarchus swainsoni), boat-billed flycatcher (Megarynchus pitangua), streaked flycatcher (Myiodynastes maculatus), tropical kingbird (Tyrannus melancholicus), fork-tailed flycatcher (Tyrannus savana), white-winged becard (Pachyramphus polychopterus), grey-breasted martin (Progne chalybea), brown-chested martin (Progne tapera), eastern slaty thrush (Turdus subalaris), swallow tanager (Tersina viridis) and red-eyed vireo (Vireo olivaceus).
|
|
The site is covered in dense bushes and shrubs which provide shelter, as well as a fresh water pond, a fresh water meadow and a maritime forest. Nearby Nummy Island is a salt marsh which offers feeding and nesting grounds. Before they mysteriously disappeared in 1995, a number of species have been spotted at the Sanctuary, including snowy egrets, glossy ibis, black-crowned and yellow-crowned night herons, little blue herons, green herons and tri-colored herons. In 2003, The Wetlands Institute identified the American redstart, black and white warbler, black-throated blue warbler, downy woodpecker and sharp-shinned hawk, but none of the egrets and herons that were traditionally identified with the area.
|
|
Compared to the other two Accipiters, Cooper's have an intermediate amount of feathering at top of the tarsus, as well as intermediate relative middle toe length and eye proportions, but have relatively the longest tail and the shortest wings of the three. The Cooper's and sharp-shinned hawk are very similar (sometimes considered almost identical) in plumage characteristics at all stages of development. Most Cooper's hawks are considerably larger than most sharp- shinned hawks. Generally, the Cooper's species is crow-sized, with the males about the size of a small crow and the females the size of a large crow, while most sharp-shinned hawks are about the size of a large jay.
|
|
Also in the hand, Cooper's hawks and sharp-shinned hawks may be fairly reliably distinguished by their sizes, with the smallest male Cooper's always being heavier and larger clawed than the largest female sharp-shinned hawk (with a 97-98% difference in dimensions of the wing and tail). However, in the field, especially when hawks must be identified in at a distance or at unfavorable angles (such as when migrating) or at a brief glance (such as when hunting), even experienced birdwatchers may not always be able to certainly distinguish the two species, especially female sharp-shins against the nearly similarly-sized male Cooper's.Roberts, T. S. (1932). Manual for the identification of the birds of Minnesota and neighboring states.
|
|
Of the many birds in Maine, a small fraction of them are the bald eagle, peregrine falcon, great horned owl, barn owl, barred owl, long-eared owl, great gray owl, northern saw-whet owl, common nighthawk, whip-poor-will, chimney swift, common loon, pied-billed grebe, horned grebe, red-necked grebe, northern fulmar, greater shearwater, sooty shearwater, manx shearwater, Wilson's storm-petrel, Leach's storm-petrel, piping plover, American pipit, Arctic tern, Atlantic puffin, black tern, harlequin duck, razorbill, black-capped chickadee, indigo bunting, scarlet tanager, mallard, wood duck, American black duck, Canada goose, American goldfinch, tufted titmouse, mourning dove, northern goshawk, golden eagle, sharp-shinned hawk, Cooper's hawk, northern harrier, and red-tailed hawk.
|
|
An American study showed that nuthatch responses to predators may be linked to reproductive strategies. It measured the willingness of males of two species to feed incubating females on the nest when presented with models of a sharp-shinned hawk, which hunts adult nuthatches, or a house wren, which destroys eggs. The white-breasted nuthatch is shorter-lived than the red-breasted nuthatch, but has more young, and was found to respond more strongly to the egg predator, whereas the red-breasted showed greater concern with the hawk. This supports the theory that longer-lived species benefit from adult survival and future breeding opportunities while birds with shorter life spans place more value on the survival of their larger broods.
|
|
The fauna of Canada can be grouped into mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, birds, and insects. Canada is known for its mammals such as American bison, Arctic hare, badger, beaver, black bear, bobcat, little brown bat, Canada lynx, caribou, coyote, grizzly bears, wolf, red fox, lemming, meadow mice, moose, mountain lion, mule deer, musk ox, muskrat, polar bear, porcupine, prairie dog, pronghorn, raccoon, pinniped (seal), skunk, snowshoe hare, walrus, wapiti, weasel, whale, white tailed deer, wolverine. To name a few of the birds identified with Canada would be the American robin, Bicknell's thrush, black-capped chickadee, blue jay, burrowing owl, Canada goose, canvasback, downy woodpecker, Canada jay, great blue heron, great horned owl, greater snow goose, killdeer, loons, piping plover, purple martin, ruby- throated hummingbird, sharp-shinned hawk, Cooper's hawk, and whooping crane. The biology survey of Canada cites that there are approximately 55,000 species of insects, and 11,000 species of mites and spiders.
|
|
Birds in Simi Valley include Anna's hummingbird, Canada goose, mallard, California quail, common egret, great blue heron, American bittern, American coot, killdeer, mourning dove, roadrunner, belted kingfisher, black phoebe, barn swallow, cliff swallow, common raven, crow, white-breasted nuthatch, cactus wren, mockingbird, robin, cedar waxwing, phainopepla, starling, least Bell's vireo, hooded oriole, western tanager, several species of blackbird (western meadowlark, Brewer's blackbird and brown-headed cowbird) and woodpeckers (common flicker, Nuttall's woodpecker, acorn woodpecker, and yellow-bellied sapsucker). Raptors include turkey vulture, white-tailed kite, American kestrel, poor-will and several species of hawks (Cooper's hawk, sharp-shinned hawk, marsh hawk, red-tailed hawk, red-shouldered hawk, and the common nighthawk) and owls (great horned owl, short-eared owl, long-eared owl, barn owl, and the burrowing owl). Grosbeaks, finches and sparrows include black-headed grosbeak, house finch, American goldfinch, lesser goldfinch, California towhee, Savannah sparrow, sage sparrow, dark-eyed junco, white-crowned sparrow and the house sparrow.
|
|
These birds are subdivided into 70 Conservation priority species, five Stewardship species, and three Special Status species. The 70 Conservation priority species are identified by the fact that they were ranked as high priorities in one or more bird conservation initiatives. Most Conservation priority species were designated as such by regional initiatives because of population declines, significant threats, dependence on restricted or threatened habitats, or small population size. Three species that were not ranked by regional initiatives (northern goshawk, ferruginous hawk, and golden eagle) were included as Conservation priority species based on current concerns in Nevada and agency priorities. Bird species in the state include the American bald eagles, New World vulture, peregrine falcon, northern goshawk, red-tailed hawk, American white pelican, northern phainopepla, great horned owl, burrowing owl, golden eagle, prairie falcon, greater roadrunner, canyon wren, Gambel's quail, house finch, Harris's hawk, common gallinule, curlew sandpiper, common black-hawk, zone-tailed hawk, red crossbill, northern cardinal, red-faced cormorant, sooty grouse, wild turkey, northern harrier, American bittern, red-shouldered hawk, ferruginous hawk, broad-winged hawk, Cooper’s hawk, elf owl, gyrfalcon, sharp-shinned hawk and many more.
|
|