Head to head
Hawk vs Falcon
Hawks and falcons are both day-hunting birds of prey with hooked beaks and gripping feet, and for centuries they were grouped together. Genetics has since shown they are on completely different branches of the bird tree, and their similarities are convergent.
| Hawk | Falcon | |
|---|---|---|
| Family | Accipitridae (with eagles and kites) | Falconidae |
| Closest relatives | Eagles, kites, Old World vultures | Parrots and songbirds |
| Wings | Broad and rounded, or short and rounded | Long, tapered, pointed |
| How it kills | Crushing grip of the feet | Impact and a notched beak to the neck |
| Beak notch (tomial tooth) | Absent | Present in true falcons |
| Nest | Builds a stick nest | Builds no nest |
| Top speed | Fast, but no record diver | Peregrine exceeds 380 km/h in a stoop |
| Flight style | Soaring and gliding, or agile weaving | Fast, powerful, direct flapping |
Hawk vs Falcon: common questions
How can I tell a hawk from a falcon in flight?
Wing shape is the best cue. A falcon has long, slender, sharply pointed wings that sweep back, giving it an anchor or crescent outline, and it flies with quick, stiff, powerful wingbeats and little gliding. A hawk has broader, more rounded wings and, in the soaring open-country species, a broad fanned tail, and it glides and circles far more, often hanging on a thermal with wings held flat or slightly raised. The forest hawks are shorter-winged and longer-tailed and fly in bursts of flapping and gliding between cover. If a raptor is scything across open sky in a straight, fast line, think falcon; if it is circling lazily overhead, think hawk.
Why are falcons not classed with hawks and eagles any more?
Because DNA says they do not belong there. When bird family trees were rebuilt using large genetic datasets in the 2000s and 2010s, falcons landed on a branch far from the hawks and eagles, next to a group containing the parrots and the perching birds. The hooked beak, taloned feet, and predatory habit that had always been used to group the birds of prey turned out to be features that evolved more than once, because they suit any bird that makes a living killing other animals. So the modern classification splits the day-hunting raptors into at least three unrelated lineages: the hawks and eagles, the falcons, and the New World vultures, with the owls separate again.
Is a kestrel a hawk or a falcon?
A kestrel is a falcon. Kestrels are a group of small, often reddish-brown falcons within the family Falconidae, and the common and American kestrels are among the most familiar members. What makes kestrels stand out from the larger falcons is their habit of wind-hovering, holding a fixed position in mid-air with rapid wingbeats and a motionless head while they scan the ground for voles, mice, lizards, and large insects. The bigger falcons, such as the peregrine and gyrfalcon, specialise in catching birds in fast flight and rarely hover. The sparrowhawk, despite the similar name and the shared habit of hunting small birds, is a true hawk in the family Accipitridae.