Hawks are a group of birds of prey in the family Accipitridae. These birds have slender bodies with short broad rounded wings and a long tail. They have long legs, long sharp talons, and a sharp hooked bill. There are four groups of hawks.
Accipiters or true hawks inhabit forests. They have short, broad, round wings and a long tail; long shins and long, slender toes. The female accipiter is often much larger than the male.
Harriers have a facial disc, like owls, that helps them hear their prey. Most show color differences between the adult male and female birds.
Buteos are found nearly worldwide in open country and some forested areas. They have broad wings with deeply slit wing tips; short, stout legs with short toes.
There is a miscellaneous group of hawks that do not fit into the other hawk groups. Most of these birds live in the tropics.
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- Sparrowhawk The Hawk and Owl Trust tells where this accipiter nests, what they eat, how many are left in the United Kingdom and what threatens them.
- Sharp-shinned Hawk Details include description, habitat, diet, interesting facts, and how to help protect this endangered accipiter.
- Harris' Hawk Explains where this tropical hawk lives, what it eats, how it hunts, where it nests, and what its name means. See photos and take a quiz. From The Peregrine Fund.
- Northern Goshawk Learn where this accipter lives, what it eats, how it hunts, and why they are used in falconry. See photos and take a quiz.
- Swainson's Hawk The Peregrine Fund tells where this buteo lives, what it eats, how it hunts, and what its name means. See photos and take a quiz.
- White-tailed Hawk All About Birds gives cool facts about this buteo's wings. Learn where they live, how they sound, and how their colors change.
- Red-shouldered Hawk All About Birds tells where the five species of this buteo live, how they are different from each other, what they sound like, and some cool facts.