Cooper's Hawk

The Cooper's Hawk is a medium-sized forest hawk known for its incredible agility and speed when navigating dense tree cover. Adults feature slate-gray upperparts, reddish-barred underparts, and a long, rounded tail marked with prominent dark bands. They are specialized bird hunters, often ambushing prey with sudden bursts of speed.

Distinctive alternating bands of dark brown or charcoal and pale grayish-brown or whitish across the feather width, ending in a narrow white tip. Typical coloration for an adult or sub-adult Cooper's Hawk tail feather.

Tightly interlocked pennaceous barbs with strong hooklets, providing a sturdy and aerodynamic surface suitable for steering during high-speed woodland flights. Intact condition with minimal fraying.

Smooth, stiff, and matte surface with high rigidity along the vane to withstand aerodynamic forces during agile aerial maneuvers.

Distinctive dark and light horizontal banding pattern, rounded tip, and rigid structure typical of an Accipiter tail feather, differentiating it from broader Buteo hawk feathers.

Deciduous and mixed forests, open woodlands, wooded suburbs, and riparian areas where they can hunt medium-sized birds and small mammals among trees.

Widely distributed across North America, ranging from southern Canada down through the United States and into Mexico. Year-round resident across much of its range.

Apex avian predator in suburban and woodland ecosystems, helping to regulate populations of medium-sized birds such as doves, pigeons, and starlings.

Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) and Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis). Sharp-shinned hawk tail feathers are noticeably smaller with a squared-off tip, while Goshawk feathers are significantly larger and heavier.

Cooper's Hawks are master aviators capable of high-speed chases through dense forest canopies. They brake using their long tails like rudders and can occasionally be seen walking on the ground.

Good condition. The feather appears mostly intact with minimal wear, slight fading on the edges, and no visible fault bars or parasite damage.

In my neighborhood of Arvada, CO