General Description: Sharp-shinned Hawks (Accipiter striatus) are medium-sized hawks of the forest. The tail is long and banded, and the wings are short and rounded, attributes that help when flying through tree branches hunting other birds. Adults have a red, barred breast and reddish wing linings; juveniles have a striped breast. The long tail has square corners (compare with the larger Cooper's Hawk).

Taxonomy: Accipitriformes, Accipitridae.

Favored Habitat: Forests and other places with trees.

Where to Find: Fairly uncommon, usually seen hunting in riparian areas and mountain forests.

Comments: Can be difficult to separate from Cooper's Hawks because they basically look alike. However, Cooper's are larger, about the size of a crow; Sharp-shins are smaller, about the size of a Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay. Size can be a problem because there is some overlap (large female Sharpies can be a big as a small male Cooper). In flight, the tail corners are diagnostic: Cooper's are rounded, Sharp-shins are square.

In juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawks, the breast streaks are relatively wide and not particularly dark. In contrast, in juvenile Cooper's Hawks, the breast streaks are relatively narrow and fairly dark.

In addition, in Sharp-shinned Hawks, the color of the crown, nape, and side of the face are relatively uniform. In contrast, Cooper's Hawks usually have a dark crown that contrasts with the lighter nape and sides of the face.

If you were a tasty little bird like a finch or a sparrow, this might be the last face you'll ever see!