Gray Hawk Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesGray Hawk
Adult
A medium-sized hawk with short, rounded wings and a fairly long black-and-white banded tail. Adults are pale gray below with a finely barred chest.
© Patrick Maurice / Macaulay LibraryArizona, June 14, 2017Juvenile
Often fans tail in flight. Juveniles are pale below with finely barred tail and darker blotches on the belly.
© Peggy Steffens / Macaulay LibraryArizona, September 30, 2020Adult
A fairly long-legged and long-tailed hawk that usually hunts from a perch in the understory, looking for reptiles and other small animals to pounce on.
© Gregory Griffith / Macaulay LibraryFebruary 01, 1995Not all videos have sound
Adult
Adults have a light gray head, a darker gray back, barred underparts, and a barred black-and-white tail.
© Holger Teichmann / Macaulay LibraryAlajuela, November 28, 2016Adult
Builds stick nests in upper half of trees including cottonwood, willow, and oak, usually along streams.
© Larry Arbanas / Macaulay LibraryArizona, May 10, 2006Not all videos have sound
Juvenile
Juveniles are brown above and spotted in brown below. They have a long tail banded in black and brown and a white cheek bordered by 2 brown streaks.
© Diane Drobka / Macaulay LibraryArizona, October 05, 2019Similar SpeciesCooper's Hawk
Adult
Cooper’s Hawks are accipiters; they have longer tails and are generally smaller than Gray Hawks. Adults have orange-barred breasts rather than the Gray Hawk’s neat gray barring.
© Evan Lipton / Macaulay LibraryRhode Island, February 11, 2017Similar SpeciesCooper's Hawk
Immature
Immature Cooper's Hawks don’t have the bold white-and-brown face pattern of immature Gray Hawks.
© Geoffrey Groom / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, December 21, 2015Similar SpeciesCooper's Hawk
Adult
Adult Cooper's Hawks (and Sharp-shinned Hawks) are separated from Gray Hawks by their rusty underparts.
© Alex Lamoreaux / Macaulay LibraryMinnesota, October 10, 2016Similar SpeciesCooper's Hawk
Juvenile
Juvenile Cooper's Hawks in flight have darker underwings than juvenile Gray Hawks.
© Jean-Sébastien Mayer / Macaulay LibraryQuebec, September 12, 2016Similar SpeciesSharp-shinned Hawk
Adult (Northern)
Sharp-shinned Hawks are accipiters; they have longer tails and are generally smaller than Gray Hawks. Adults have orange-barred breasts rather than the Gray Hawk’s neat gray barring.
© robert beauchamp / Macaulay LibraryColorado, April 29, 2017Similar SpeciesSharp-shinned Hawk
Immature (Northern)
Immature Sharp-shinned Hawks don’t have the bold white-and-brown face pattern of immature Gray Hawks.
© Sue Barth / Macaulay LibraryNew York, April 14, 2013Similar SpeciesSharp-shinned Hawk
Immature (Northern)
In flight, immature Sharp-shinned Hawks have darker underwings than Gray Hawks.
© Alix d'Entremont / Macaulay LibraryNova Scotia, September 24, 2014Similar SpeciesRed-tailed Hawk
Adult (borealis)
When perched, look for adult Red-tailed Hawk's belly band to separate them from Gray Hawks.
© Alex Lamoreaux / Macaulay LibraryPennsylvania, February 10, 2016Similar SpeciesRed-tailed Hawk
Juvenile light morph (calurus/alascensis)
In flight, juvenile Red-tailed Hawks generally have darker underparts, especially the inner wing linings, than adult or juvenile Gray Hawks.
© Alex Lamoreaux / Macaulay LibraryIdaho, June 08, 2011Similar SpeciesBroad-winged Hawk
Adult light morph
Broad-winged Hawks have rustier inner wing linings and dark tips to the flight feathers that Gray Hawks lack.
© David Brown / Macaulay LibraryPennsylvania, September 20, 2016Similar SpeciesBroad-winged Hawk
Juvenile light morph
Juvenile Broad-winged Hawks lack the Gray Hawk's wide bars on the tail.
© Alex Lamoreaux / Macaulay LibraryTexas, April 20, 2017Similar SpeciesRed-shouldered Hawk
Juvenile (elegans)
Red-shouldered Hawks have thinner white bands on the tail and are rustier below than Gray Hawks.
© Blake Matheson / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, September 19, 2017Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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Species in This Family
Hawks, Eagles, and Kites(Order: Accipitriformes, Family: Accipitridae)
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