Cooper's Hawk vs Pigeon - bird street fight

We sauntered outside and saw this commotion across the street. It wasn't something we expected to see right outside the house, but then again there are lots pigeons for the eating. This Coopers Hawk weighs ~1 pound (450 grams), the Pigeon weights 9 ounces (270 grams). The marking on the Coopers clearly indicate this was a juvenile.

The Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) looks nearly identical to the Coopers but is much smaller at just 5 ouces (~140 grams).

Start to finish this was probably 10 to 15 minutes. In the end, yes, the Cooper's Hawk eats the pigeon, proving once again how effective they are in predation. Guess this pigeon won't be eating out of our feeders anymore.

More on the Cooper's Hawk (Falconiformes, Accipitridae, Accipiter cooperii)
http://www.aves101.com/species_index/z_old/coopers_hawk.html

more on the Rock Pigeon (Columbiformes, Columbidae, Columba livia)
http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Rock_Pigeon/id

This video was taken with a Panasonic HDC-HS60 at 35x optical zoom with optical image stabilization. Panasonic has THE BEST stabilization of all handheld mini cameras. This is a tapeless camera, it records AVCHD direct to hard drive.

If you saw the video footage on MLB.com, this is the same species of bird that went after the Pigeon during the game at Miller Park where the Milwaukee Brewers were playing.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• coopers hawk
• rock pigeon
• pigeon
• birds in street
• raptor
• accipiter
• coopers vs sharpie
• sharp shinned hawk
• coopers eats pigeon
• hawk eats pigeon

[customcartoons]

Pigeon: Get OFF me, ya fatass!

Hawk: shush, you're dead!

Pigeon: I am NOT! Get off!

Hawk: You'll be dead a minute, quiet!

[mythtical100]

haha unfair the hawk had talons

[MyGogou]

Im happy ,there r no such hawks to b found at ur place..,daring hawk

[lornanet1]

she1s going to shag your best mate DICKHEAD !!!!

[lornanet1]

why didn`t u save the pigeon u couple of sad fucks,,,,,,what if the pigeon had young u couple of freaks !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[TheChexymex]

I found one today..he was injured bad. He had some type of tumor growing out of his leg.

[salmanmal1k]

beautiful bird! real predator ...thanks for uploading!

[pockettaco]

@RACCHIETTO Not when you're interrupting a PREDATORY bird from getting a meal...

[RACCHIETTO]

@pockettaco of course, but if it happens in my backyard i would save it. let's say i'm more a life lover than a nature lover, if you have enough luck to be saved from death you should be happy, it's a part of the cyrcle of life anyways don't you think...?

[pockettaco]

@RACCHIETTO if you'rea nature lover, then you should be smart enough to understand that this kind of thing happens everywhere in the natural world...