What is this cool little bird?

[casportpony]

Smaller than a pigeon and bigger than a Scrub Jay.

 

[casportpony]

What is this?

 

[7acres]

Maybe a Coopers Hawk

 

[Peppercorngal]

Looks like a Cooper's Hawk to me.

 

[casportpony]

This is smaller than the Coppers Hawk that visits.

 

[Biddybot]

If it seemed uncommonly small to you, I'd go with an adult sharp-shinned hawk, although there is some overlap size-wise...big female sharp-shins can be as large as weeny little male coopers. If you can get a clear look at the end of its tail, the outside 'corners' of a coopers' tail will have a slightly rounded finish whereas the sharp-shin's will be utterly squared. I've had an immature female sharp-shin hanging about most of the winter and was lucky enough to watch her eat up a redpoll she managed to catch in the forsythia thicket just outside one of my living room windows...took her a good two hours to consume it followed by an hour's bask in the sunshine. I've never had any problems with these hawks, although I suppose they could pose a danger to baby chicks and tiny bantam chicklets. Mostly, though, they are small-bird specialists, and if you've got English sparrows, they looovvve catching them...leastwise, they sure loved catching mine, when I had that resident sparrow colony years ago.

 

[NewBoots]

Kestrel maybe if it's that small.

 

[21hens-incharge]

Kestrel maybe if it's that small.

Those are super pretty!
I don't think this is one though.

They have very strong face markings.

 

[NewBoots]

Those are super pretty!
I don't think this is one though.

They have very say ring face markings.

Yeah you're right. I am betting sharp shin as Biddybot suggested.

 

[Peppercorngal]

The sharp shinned hawk has a totally different color and pattern to it's chest. This may be a small one, but I think it is a Cooper's Hawk. The colors and patterns fit exactly. The Kestrel has very distinctive facial patterns, this is not a Kestrel. What else fits that lives in this area????