Backyard and Beyond

Starting out from Brooklyn, an amateur naturalist explores our world.

As John Burroughs said, “The place to observe nature is where you are.”

Cooper’s

Accipiter cooperiiAccipiter cooperiiAccipiter cooperiiCooper’s Hawk (Accipiter cooperii) in Prospect. The red-orange eyes are a mark of a mature bird; juvenile birds have yellowish eyes. This accipiter, or forest hawk, is named after William Cooper, one of the founders of the New York Academy of Sciences; the species was named and first described by the naturalist Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1828. Bonaparte, who was nephew to the Corsican Upstart, was responsible for identifying/naming some 100 North American species. (Traditionally, you don’t name anything after yourself; Boneparte’s Gull, Chroicocephalus philadelphia, was named by someone else.)

mthew

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4 responses to “Cooper’s”

  1. natureintheburbs

    Nice. I’ve never seen one of these. Didn’t know that about the eyes.

    Reply
    1. mthew

      Keep on the lookout for these. You’ve definitely got them. And their smaller cousins the Sharp-shinned hawks. Accipters often haunt backyard bird feeders. They rounded wings and long tails make they great maneuverers, as they attempt to pounce on their avian prey.

      Reply
      1. natureintheburbs

        Thanks, I will.

  2. Wintering Hawk | Backyard and Beyond

    […] I barely saw it, high up in a tree on a lead-grey afternoon. Here are some better pictures of an adult Cooper’s in Prospect Park from last […]

    Reply

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