Instead, the Northern Goshawk hunts by flying at low altitude over open woodland or along forest edges, in order to surprise its prey out in the open. However, its behavior is very different from buteo hawks, as it spends much less time soaring or perched in prominent locations. It also has slightly longer wings and a more rounded tail, and as a result looks slightly similar to buteo hawks. The Northern Goshawk is the largest accipiter hawk in the state of California, and significantly larger than the two Coopers’ and Sharp-shinned Hawks. It is a summer visitor in the northern parts of North America, but it can be found year-round in California. It is not unusual for a Cooper’s Hawk to show up around bird feeders, where it tries to surprise and ambush feeding songbirds with a lightning fast dash from a hidden perch. While Cooper’s Hawks were originally shy woodland raptors, they are now commonly found in urban areas such as Phoenix and Tucson, where they hunt doves and songbirds. The long tail and small, rounded wings of the Cooper’s Hawk make it possible for this bird of prey to perform sharp turns and quick maneuvers in the thick foliage of dense forests and shrubs. You’re most likely to notice the orange coloration on the chest and underside of this California hawk if you can observe it perched on a branch. Male Cooper’s Hawks have reddish-orange bars on their underside, while their upperparts are grayish-blue. Sometimes it will even take species that are larger than itself. The Cooper’s Hawk is extremely agile and skillful when it comes to catching small birds in flight. Wintering birds are most often Sharp-Shinned Hawks from Canada that spend the cold season in the Great Canyon State. The breeding range of Sharp-Shinned Hawks is in northern California, but they can occur throughout the state outside of the breeding season. With blue-gray wings and back, and with orange feather patterns on their chests, these hawks are recognizable by their small size, agility, and distinctive behavior. Sharp-Shinned Hawkįrom the largest to the smallest hawk on the list, the sharp-shinned hawk is most commonly seen stalking song birds, making them a regular sight in backyards in the state. This bird of prey feeds on rodents and other small animals that it catches by swooping down from its perch when they venture out into the open. The Red-tailed Hawk is one of the most common species of hawks in California, and can be seen throughout the Golden State year-round. It is most often seen perched on roadside posts or fences, waiting for prey. This large hawk is common in open grassland and also in cities. It has variable coloration, ranging from dark brown to almost entirely white, but can be readily recognized by its rusty red tail. With a wingspan of up to 52 in (4.5 ft), the Red-tailed Hawk is one of the larger hawks in California. Now let’s dive into the details, and take a closer look at each of these raptors in California: Hawks Red-tailed Hawk Yet other raptor species are winter visitors to California, and a few are vagrants that only rarely occur in the state. While many of these birds of prey are found all year in California, a number of them only occur in the state only during the breeding season in summer. Note that this list includes both diurnal birds of prey (hawks, eagles, falcons, kites, harriers, and vultures), as well as nocturnal birds of prey (owls). The 31 types of birds of prey found in California are: What are the types of birds of prey in California?
To help you identify the bird you saw, we’ll cover the most common birds of prey of California in this article. Identifying raptors in the Golden State is not as easy as it might seem, since there are many birds of prey that regularly occur in California. Did you recently come across a bird of prey in the state of California, and want to know what species it was?
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