90 
BIRDS OF PREY. 
COOPER'S HAWK. 
( Falco Cooperii , Bonap. Am. Orn. ii. pi. 10. fig. 1. [young]. Phila- 
delphia Museum, No. 403.) 
Spec. Charact. — Tail rounded, with 4 blackish bands, and tipped 
with white ; wings extending, when folded, to the 2d band ; 
2d quill nearly equal in length to the 6th, and the 3d to the 
5th. Length 18 or more inches. — Young , dusky-brown, skirted 
with ferruginous ; beneath white, with oblanceolate, dusky brown 
spots. 
This fine species of Hawk is found in considerable 
numbers in the Middle States, particularly New York 
and New Jersey, in the autumn, and at the approach of 
winter. His food appears principally to be birds of vari- 
ous kinds ; from the Sparrow to the Ruffed Grous, all 
contribute to his rapacious appetite. I have also seen 
this species as far south as the capital of Alabama, and in 
common with the preceding, his depredations among the 
domestic fowls are very destructive. Mr. Cooper in- 
forms me that the plumage of the adult male bears the 
same analogy to the adult of F . fuscus, as the young 
of that species does to the present, excepting that the 
rufous tints are paler. The difference in size between 
the two is as 2, or even 3, to 1. 
The length of this species is about 18 inches ; and nearly 30 in 
alar extent. The general color of the young bird above is chocolate- 
brown, and the head and neck blackish, edged with rufous and 
white. The body beneath is white, the feathers being marked each 
with a long, dusky stripe down the shafts, which spots become broader 
and oblanceolate on the breast and flanks. The vent and lower tail 
coverts white. The wings about 9 inches long, and when folded, 
scarcely extend to the 2d bar of the tail ; the quills crossed by black- 
ish bands. 1st primary very short, more so than the secondaries ; 
2d equal to the 6th, and the 3d to the 5th, the 2 last being scarcely 
shorter than the 4th, which, as in all the birds of this section, is the 
longest. Tail 8 inches, extending 5 beyond the wings, ashy brown, 
