Chickenhawk (bird) their supposed prey include: duck hawk (peregrine falcon), sparrowhawk (American kestrel), goshawk (northern goshawk), pigeon hawk (merlin), fish hawk (osprey), and quail hawk (Cooper's hawk). Chickenhawk (bird) In the United States, chickenhawk or chicken hawk is an unofficial designation for three species of North American hawks in the family Accipitridae: Cooper's hawk, also called a quail hawk, the sharp-shinned hawk, and the red-tailed hawk. The term "chicken hawk", however, is inaccurate. Although Cooper's and sharp-shinned hawks may attack other birds, chickens do not make up a significant part of their diets; red-tailed hawks have varied diets, but may opportunistically hunt
Passenger pigeon the genus "Accipiter" and falcons pursued and preyed upon pigeons in flight, which in turn executed complex aerial maneuvers to avoid them; Cooper's hawk was known as the "great pigeon hawk" due to its successes, and these hawks allegedly followed migrating passenger pigeons. While many predators were drawn to the flocks, individual pigeons were largely protected due to the sheer size of the flock, and overall little damage could be inflicted on the flock by predation. Despite the number of predators, nesting colonies were so large that they were estimated to have a 90% success rate if not disturbed. After