| Sharp-shinned Hawk | Cooper’s Hawk | ||
| smaller: shorter length & wingspan males 82g-125g females 144g-208g |  Raptor Center |  Raptor Center | larger: longer length & wingspan males 297g-380g females 460g-588g |
| smaller, rounded shaped head |  |  | squarer shaped head |
| uniform dark gray crown and nape |  Raptor Center |  | cap: lighter nape than crown (juvenile shown) |
| yellow supraorbital ridge skin |  |  | gray supraorbital ridge skin |
| long thin leg |  Raptor Center |  | leg thicker |
| white terminal band on tail is narrow |   |   | white terminal band on tail is wide (may be worn off) |
| square tail (some females have rounded tail) |  |  | rounded tail |
| Go to sharp-shinned hawks |
| Go to Cooper’s hawks |