| Sharp-shinned Hawk Identification Tips |
| (Credit: U. S. Geological Survey) |
| General
Information - Sexes similar, but females much larger - Small, broad-winged, long-tailed hawk - Short, dark, hooked beak - Long, narrow tarsi - Short, rounded wings - Long tail is squared-off at tip with prominent corners - Typically flies with several quick snappy wingbeats and a short glide, but also soars - Small rounded head does not project far beyond wings when soaring Adult - Red eye - Black cap - Blue-gray back and upperwings - White breast, belly and underwing coverts marked by fine, thin, reddish bars - White undertail coverts - Tail, blue gray above and pale below, barred with black bands - Flight feathers, blue-gray above and pale below, with dark bars Immature - Yellow eye - Brown head with indistinct pale supercilium - Brown cap, nape, back, and upperwings - Tail, brown above and pale below, barred with black bands - White underparts streaked extensively with dark brown, almost to the undertail Similar species The Sharp-shinned Hawk is most similar to the Cooper's Hawk. In all plumages, the Sharp-shinned Hawk has a shorter, less rounded tail with a thinner white tip, slimmer tarsi, a more rounded head that does not project much beyond the wings when soaring and a less snappy wingbeat. Male Sharp-shinned Hawks are obviously smaller than all Cooper's Hawks. Adult Sharp-shinned Hawks have a less well-defined cap while immatures have thicker, more extensive streaking on the breast and belly. Immature Northern Goshawks are quite similar to immature Sharp-shinneds but are much larger, more comparable in size to a buteo. American Kestrel is similar in size but has pointed wingtips and quite different patterns. |
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