The adult Cooper's Hawk is slate blue above with a dark crown and lighter back. Its underparts are white with heavy rufous colored barring. This hawk has a distinctly rounded tail that ends with a wide white terminal band. Depending upon age, its eyes are yellowish-orange to red in color.
Juveniles have yellowish eyes.
These younger hawks are brown above with white and brown streaking below. This raptor makes a long series of harsh and rapid kak, kak, kak, kaks. The Cooper's Hawk lays 4 to 5 off-white colored eggs. Its nest is typically a platform of sticks lined with chips of bark. Preferring the woods, these raptors live in mature deciduous forests.