Raptor Wednesday

There has been a big shake-up in raptor taxonomy. American Goshawk (Astur atricapillus) and Coopers Hawk (Astur cooperii) have been removed from genus Accipiter. These two are closely-related; there has even been evidence that they can hybridize. They are not, however, closely related to the Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipter striatus), which remains an Accipiter. Convergent evolution makes Coops and Sharpies look so similar, but that physically similarity is not backed up genetically. Sharpies are closely related to the Eurasian Sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus) and were the last of the three species of forest hawks to show up in the Americas.

A couple of recent photos of different Brooklyn Astur cooperii for you. In winter, these are uncommon but regularly seen in NYC; there is some breeding in the city as well. American Goshawks are extremely uncommon here: I’ve only ever seen one, a juvenile in Prospect Park in 2017.