Ted Becker wrote:

>This morning I saw a smallish raptor on a streetlight on Broadway in
>Everett. It appeared to be an immature Cooper's or Sharp Shinned. Brown,
>heavy streaking on the breast, no outstanding facial markings, yellow feet
>and legs. It flew before I could get out of car to get a closer look. It
>was quite tolerent of pedestrains on the sidewalk below it. In flight it
>had the round wing, long tail outline of an accipitar. Size was bigger
>than a Kestral. From leg size ( Bud Anderson says match stick size for
>Sharpies and Pencil sized for Coopr's) I would call it Cooper's. Couldn't
>see the tail tip, didn't notice for sure if there was a hint of a crest.
>
>What other distinguishing markings are there to differentiate Sharpie and
>Cooper? Esp. imm's. I'm going back on Thursday and then to the Everett STP
>ponds.

Immature Cooper's have fine dark brown streaking on the underparts,
immature Sharp-shinned paler, denser, broader (blurrier) streaks, often
with barring indicated on the sides. And Cooper's shows a more distinct
dark cap than Sharp-shinned. Sharpies are a lot more common in our cities,
which doesn't mean that you won't see Cooper's regularly too.

Dennis Paulson, Director phone: (206) 756-3798
Slater Museum of Natural History fax: (206) 756-3352
University of Puget Sound e-mail: dpaulson at ups.edu
Tacoma, WA 98416