What is lanky

Often the word lanky is used to describe a Cooper’s hawk ( COHA). But the word is never described.

You know what is a lanky person, or a stocky person, or a pudgy person. If you were in a classroom and the professor were to define what is lanky by using geometry; Then you might become irritated, because you know lankiness. I believe you will appreciate the way I define the condition of lanky relating to the COHA. We will go right to the heart of lanky. The main contributing factor of lanky is that a COHA has a waist! Some, many?, Sharp- shinned hawks will have a waist (SSHA). Northern goshawks do not have a waist.

The body of the COHA will taper abruptly into the base of the tail. Therefore, the base of the tail will be thinner than the body of the hawk. The tail should be completely folded. There is another form of waist. The body of the hawk will taper gently, then will level out toward the tail, then the base of the folded tail. This makes for a long waist! Of course it is best to observe the waist when the hawk is near your overhead, or perched, and you are observing from straight-on, face-on, meaning from the rear ideally.

Observe; Peterson Field Guides— HAWKS ; William S. Clark/ Brian K. Wheeler. Copy-write 1987. Plate 6 Adult accipiters. What is wrong with this artwork? The COHA has zero waist!

I am standing on my neighbor’s front porch. A raptor is coming toward me at an angle. The hawk is an accipiter. The hawks is very close. It is a COHA, because of the wing beats. The hawk is about twenty feet away and is about twenty feet in the air, so it is near the overhead. I immediately went to the waist of the hawk. To verify that the hawk was not a NG.

So , I suggest go for the wing beats, then go right to the waist. Do not try and pick out field marks. I also realized the outline of the wings; the leading edge and the trailing edge, which was not well defined. But, I am getting ahead of myself. There are also other factors that contribute toward the bird appearing lanky, but not for now. NB.