Head to head
Red-tailed Hawk vs Peregrine Falcon
These two stand in for the wider difference between hawks and falcons. The red-tailed hawk is a buteo, a bird built for soaring on broad wings and a short fanned tail, scanning open country and dropping onto ground prey. The peregrine falcon is built for speed in a straight line, with long pointed wings and a slim tail, and it hunts other birds by climbing above them and stooping. One is the roadside hawk of North America; the other is the fastest creature on the planet.
| Red-tailed Hawk | Peregrine Falcon | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Buteo (soaring hawk) | Falcon (Falco) |
| Wing shape | Broad and rounded, for soaring | Long, pointed, and swept, for speed |
| Tail | Short and broad; brick-red above in adults | Narrow; used as a rudder in the dive |
| Main prey | Rodents, rabbits, reptiles; some birds | Birds caught in flight, from songbirds to ducks |
| Hunting style | Perch-and-pounce, or a slow drop from a soar | A high climb and a near-vertical stoop |
| Top speed | Around 65 km/h level; faster in a dive | Over 320 km/h in a stoop, the fastest of any animal |
| Nest | Bulky stick nest in a tall tree or on a cliff or pole | A bare scrape on a cliff ledge, quarry, or skyscraper |
| Conservation status | Least Concern; increasing | Least Concern; recovered from the DDT era |
Red-tailed Hawk vs Peregrine Falcon: common questions
What is the basic difference between a hawk and a falcon?
Body plan and killing method. Falcons have long, narrow, pointed wings, fly with fast stiff wingbeats, and typically kill with a high-speed strike or a bite to the neck, aided by a notch in the beak called the tomial tooth. Hawks in the buteo group, like the red-tailed hawk, have broad rounded wings and a wide tail for soaring, and they kill by seizing prey on the ground with their feet and crushing it. Falcons are also more closely related to parrots and songbirds than to hawks, despite the similar predatory look, which is a case of convergent evolution.
Is the peregrine falcon really the fastest animal?
In its hunting stoop, yes. A peregrine climbs hundreds of metres above its target, then tucks into a teardrop shape and dives, and calibrated measurements have recorded speeds over 320 kilometres per hour, with one falconry-trained bird clocked near 390. No other animal moves that fast under its own control. In level flapping flight the peregrine is quick but not exceptional, and several swifts and ducks can out-fly it in a straight chase. The red-tailed hawk is not a speed specialist at all; its advantage is stamina in a soar and power in the grip.
Which is the hawk I see on the highway, and which is on city buildings?
The big hawk on a light pole or fence post along a rural highway, pale-chested with a dark belly band and, in adults, a rusty tail, is almost always a red-tailed hawk; the open verge is full of voles and mice. The falcon that nests on bridges, cathedrals, and office towers in cities is the peregrine, which has adapted to skyscraper ledges as substitute cliffs and to the abundant feral pigeons as prey. Many cities now have resident peregrine pairs with webcams on the nest.