Cooper's hawk (Accipiter cooperii) was named in 1828 by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in honour of his friend and fellow ornithologist, William Cooper, who collected the specimens that were used to describe the species. Many of the names applied to the Cooper's hawks (big blue darter, chicken hawk, flying cross, hen hawk, quail hawk, striker, swift hawk) refer to its ability to hunt large and evasive prey using extremely well-developed agility. It primarily hunts small-to-medium sized birds, but will also commonly take small mammals and sometimes reptiles. It captures a bird with its feet, and will squeeze it repeatedly to kill it, instead of biting the prey to kill it in the fashion of falcons. It has also been known to drown its prey.It is native to the North American continent and found from Southern Canada to Northern Mexico.
