Cooper's Hawk

If Vancouver's songbirds dream, the Cooper's
Hawk must be the subject of some of their
most frightening nightmares. This for-
est hawk hunts songbirds silently,
using surprise and speed to capture
them. Bursting from an overhead
perch, a Cooper's Hawk will pursue a
songbird at high speed along the edge of a
forest or around a yard until it can use its long legs
and sharp talons to snatch its quarry in mid-air.
Sometimes it plucks songbirds from hedges.
This crow-sized hawk can be found in a wide variety
of woodland habitats. Like the smaller Sharp-
shinned Hawk, the Cooper's Hawk can be found
hanging around backyard birdfeeders, waiting for
the chance to prey on unsuspecting songbirds.

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