How to Identify a Broad-Winged Hawk
Updated: Oct. 05, 2023
Learn what an adult and juvenlie broad-winged hawk looks like and where to find them during breeding season and migration.
Broad-Winged Hawk Identification
“I saw this hawk in the woods near my house. What hawk species is it?” asks reader Sheryl Fleming of Hoffmeister, New York.
Birding experts Kenn and Kimberly Kaufman say, “It’s a special treat to get a good look at this bird. The brown back and the wide black and white bands across the tail mark this as an adult broad-winged hawk.”
These compact buteos are approximately the size of a crow, measuring 16 inches long with a 34 inch wingspan. Look for dark blotches on the white chest and pale colored wings with dark tips.
Check out these essential hawk identification tips for birders.
Range and Habitat
Kenn and Kimberly say, “Unlike the red-tailed hawks that can be seen in open country and along roadsides all year, broad-winged hawks are forest birds. They’re often hard to approach.
In summer, they live in wooded regions of the eastern United States and Canada, mostly east of the Rockies. In fall, they migrate to the tropics, going as far south as South America.”
ID Challenge: Cooper’s hawk vs sharp-shinned hawk.
Juvenile Birds
Immature birds have a streaked chest and a more finely barred tail.
Look for Swainson’s hawks in the summer skies.
Diet
These birds prey on small mammals such as chipmunks, frogs and lizards, small birds, and large insects.
Learn more about the foods hawks eat.
Call and Sounds
This forest-loving buteo is quiet, almost sedentary in behavior. But, in the breeding season, the pairs are conspicuous as they soar overhead, whistling p’ deeee, p’ deeee.
Why do crows chase hawks and owls?
Migration
These hawks are most often encountered during massive migration movements, sometimes with thousands flying together. These huge groups soar as one in tight circles. More than 1 million broad-winged hawks migrate through Veracruz, Mexico, during the fall in what is known as the River of Raptors.
Next, don’t miss simply stunning pictures of hawks.