juvenile goshawk?

[debmack]

Hello! This raptor was photographed eating a pigeon on my brother's back porch in Toronto (near Bellwoods Park) on or about 9 January. I live in Brussels (Belgium) and rarely get to see Canadian birds any more, and my Peterson's is the 1980 edition so the maps could be a tad out of date. But could this be a juvenile goshawk? A fast check of other Ontario bird sites suggests the juveniles do sometimes come south in winter. Otherwise a juvenile sharp-shinned or Cooper's, but it seems like the very edge of their range in winter. And judging the raptor's size against (what is left of) the pigeon, it seems kinda large.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/92339334@N ... hotostream
http://www.flickr.com/photos/92339334@N ... otostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/92339334@N ... otostream/

Please forgive me if this is a clueless question - I plead longterm expatriate-ness. I have no idea what raptors are common or rare in Toronto in winter - when I do get to bird in Canada, it's Nova Scotia and summer. But this is driving me crazy!

Best regards,
Deb MacKenzie

[thouc]

I would say it's a juvenile Cooper's Hawk. Fairly large and most streaking on the chest.

Cooper's Hawks are fairly common in Toronto in winter, Sharp-shinned Hawks a bit less common and Northern Goshawks very rare.

/Thomas

[debmack]

Thank you! I knew you were the group to ask!

Best from Brussels,
Deb