Hawk ID Help Requested

I apologize for the quality of the image. The image was taken through a door glass and porch screen. The hawk didn't hang around very long.
However, I would appreciate any ID help offered.

Thanks,
Don

Looks like a gosshawk to me, I could be wrong or I could be right

I checked with the veterinarian I worked with, he said its a gosshawk, I guessed right.

It looks like a Cooper's Hawk to me, definetly not a Northern Goshawk, although they are in the same genus.

I'm with Nate - my first impression was Cooper's

I agree with Nate; I'd expect a white eyebrow in the Northern Goshawk. I'll remind everyone again that when you ask for help with an ID it helps a lot if you tell us where and when you saw the bird...

Jim, et al:

My error, I should have mentioned it was in north-central Alabama.

Sorry,
Don

Given the height and width of the cut grass the hawk is standing inin, II suggest that ot is too small even for a male Coopers and is thus a sharp-shinned hawk

Dave Graham
East River, SD

I believe the black cap indicates Coopers...

Thanks to one and all. I believe the votes for a Coopers Hawk are in the majority.

Thanks again,

Don

The "dark cap" of a sharpie is indistinguishable from that of a cooper's, and its "darkness" is quite variable in both species.

And "majority rules" applies to politics. Taxonomic accuracy depends upon objective criteria.

Dave Graham

One more observation: the rhinotheca (upper beak) is proportionately smaller in sharpies than in Cooper's. This bird's is relatively small and delicate compared with the more stout and sturdy bill of a Cooper's.

Dave Graham

Dave, I believe the reference to the dark cap here refers to the way the Cooper's Hawk has a dark cap which contrasts with its pale nape (as here) whereas the Sharp-shinned has a dark cap and a dark nape. I'd lean towards a Cooper's here, but wouldn't mind seeing a shot of the legs and tail.