In highschool, we had an ornithologist that would set up birding nets to band songbirds, and stuff. Or biology teacher would always give him time if he got something interesting.

Anyhow, of particular memory, there was a black capped chickadee that the teacher wanted a good photo of- so the ornithologist held the bird by the legs (kind of like he was perched on the back of his hand?). The tiny thing immediately began hammer drilling his knuckles. Drew blood.

Another time, a cardinal took a hefty chunk out of the soft bits near his thumb. But, uh, it was the Canada geese he was afraid of….

That was my first thought too. This Cooper’s Hawk is way too small.

Turns out (according to Wikipedia) their adult size can vary a lot depending on location and other factors, from 14”-20”. The ones I see around here are def closer to 20 than 14, and the sharp shinned hawks are relatively small and slender.

WHere do you live? I know in the western US, we have lots of hawks that are notably larger than either of these two (but then, I'm not an ornithologist, or even a real bird-watcher, so who knows)

Red shouldered hawk?

Maybe a red-shoulder hawk? They look similar, but with... red shoulders.

*Orthinology