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Colorado’s hawks include seven species featured here: Broad-winged, Cooper’s, Ferruginous, Northern Goshawk, Red-tailed, Rough-legged and Sharp-shinned Hawks. They are not a complete list of every hawk that occurs in the state. To identify one, combine its shape, size, markings, flight, habitat and season rather than relying on a single color or field mark.
Pictures can help you compare birds, but a photo may hide important details or make proportions difficult to judge. Use the guide below to narrow down a possibility, then check a reliable field guide or identification resource when you need more certainty.
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How can you identify a hawk in Colorado?
Start with the bird’s overall outline and proportions. If it is in flight, notice whether its wings look broad or short and rounded, how long its tail appears, and how it holds its wings. If it is perched, look at body shape, head, legs and tail. Then add the visible pattern on the underside, upperwing or tail, along with where and when you saw it.
No single color is a reliable shortcut. A red-looking tail, for example, can help suggest an adult Red-tailed Hawk, but young birds and color variation mean it should not be the only clue. Plumage can vary substantially among hawks: Cornell Lab of Ornithology describes Swainson’s Hawk as “one of the world’s most variable hawk species,” with plumages ranging from light to dark. That is a useful reminder to identify a combination of features, not a color swatch.
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- Shape: Compare the head, body, wings and tail. Look at their proportions, not just their apparent size.
- Pattern: Check for bands, a dark belly area, a pale eye line, or contrasts between the body and wings. Ask whether the pattern is visible from the angle you have.
- Flight: Notice the wing shape and how the bird carries its wings. A single glimpse may not show enough to make a confident identification.
- Place and season: A hawk’s likely identity depends partly on the habitat and time of year. Do not assume that a species is present year-round just because it occurs in Colorado.
- Confidence: Keep more than one possibility in mind if key features are hidden. A distant or backlit bird may not be identifiable to species from a photograph.
The Colorado Parks and Wildlife Volunteer Raptor Monitors pages provide Colorado-specific identification notes for Cooper’s Hawk and Red-tailed Hawk. For winter field marks, A Guide to the Winter Birds of Colorado offers useful cues for several species below.
Which seven hawks are featured in this Colorado guide?
These are the seven species selected by the original guide, not a statewide census or a complete inventory. State park monitoring materials also include species such as Northern Harrier and Swainson’s Hawk, and a Colorado hawk-watching guide discusses additional species. Which hawks are likely to be seen varies with location and season.
1. Broad-winged Hawk
Broad-winged Hawks are migratory, and they may be difficult to spot outside migration. They can gather in large groups during migration, which makes a group of hawks moving together a reason to look more closely. That behavior alone does not confirm the species: use the birds’ shape and visible markings as well. The available Colorado sources do not establish a specific date range or count for migration, so avoid treating a particular week or number as a dependable local rule.
When checking a picture or sighting, look at the full bird rather than relying on the fact that it was seen during migration. If the photo does not show enough detail to distinguish it, record it as a possible Broad-winged Hawk rather than forcing a precise identification.
2. Cooper’s Hawk
Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s volunteer raptor-monitoring material describes Cooper’s Hawk as a medium-sized hawk with a small head, a streaked or checkered breast, short rounded wings and a long, banded tail with a rounded tip. The source notes it occurs in Colorado’s mountains and western plateaus, with possible presence on the plains. It also warns that Cooper’s Hawks can be confused with Sharp-shinned Hawks.
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For a useful identification, assess the body and tail together. A long, rounded tail tip and the combination of a small head with short, rounded wings are more informative than a vague impression of “small hawk.” If the bird is distant or the tail tip is obscured, keep Sharp-shinned Hawk in consideration and compare the two species directly.
3. Ferruginous Hawk
Feathered legs are a helpful clue for Ferruginous Hawk. The Colorado winter bird guide describes the light-phase bird’s leg feathering as forming a V on the belly. A light bird with that feature is a stronger candidate than one identified by overall color alone.
Ferruginous Hawks can have light or dark plumage, so a description based on one color pattern will not fit every individual. Check the leg feathering and the bird’s overall pattern together, and use a clear view or a dependable comparison image if those details are visible. Do not infer that a bird is Ferruginous solely because it looks pale or dark.
4. Northern Goshawk
The Colorado winter guide describes Northern Goshawk as larger than a crow and notes a light line above the eye. Those features can help narrow an identification, particularly when the eye line is visible in a photograph. The species is recorded at multiple state park monitoring locations, but that does not mean it is equally likely at every park or habitat.
Use the eye line as one part of the picture, not a stand-alone test. If you can see only a large bird at a distance, size by itself may not settle the identification. Habitat and local context matter, and a photo that does not show the head clearly may leave the species uncertain.
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5. Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk is described by Colorado Parks and Wildlife volunteer monitors as common throughout Colorado, from the plains to high mountains, including urban areas. The Colorado winter guide points to its broad wings and tail and often conspicuous rufous tail as useful field marks.
The tail is a clue, not a rule: juveniles and color morphs mean a red tail should not be required or used by itself to identify the species. Look for the broader shape and the visible pattern as well. Because Red-tailed Hawks occur across a range of Colorado settings, location alone is less useful here than a combination of shape and markings.
6. Rough-legged Hawk
Rough-legged Hawk is included in the selected seven and in Colorado’s winter identification guide. For the light phase, the guide highlights a black terminal band on the tail and dark belly or underwing marks. Look for the pattern in more than one area if your view allows it, rather than treating a dark patch or tail band alone as decisive.
This hawk is not present year-round in Colorado, according to the selected species guide. The sources available here do not establish a precise arrival or departure schedule, so a seasonal sighting can inform your guess but should not be turned into a fixed calendar rule. Consider the bird’s pattern and silhouette alongside the time of year.
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Sharp-shinned Hawk is often confused with Cooper’s Hawk. Cornell Lab’s comparison notes that Sharp-shinned is usually smaller, with a broad chest, narrow hips and thin legs. Cooper’s is usually larger and more tubular, with thicker, shorter legs. These are relative differences, so they are best used when you can compare the whole bird rather than one body part.
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A photograph may make the size comparison difficult, especially without a familiar object nearby. Check body shape and legs, then compare the head and tail profile if they are visible. Colorado monitoring material likewise cautions that the two species are easy to confuse. If several key details are hidden, “Cooper’s or Sharp-shinned Hawk” is more honest than a guess presented as certain.
How do you tell a Cooper’s Hawk from a Sharp-shinned Hawk?
Compare overall size, body shape and leg thickness first: Sharp-shinned is usually smaller and slimmer through the hips, while Cooper’s is usually larger and more tubular, with thicker, shorter legs. Then check the head and tail, if the view is clear enough.
| Feature | Sharp-shinned Hawk | Cooper’s Hawk |
|---|---|---|
| Relative size | Usually smaller | Usually larger |
| Body shape | Broad chest, narrow hips | More tubular |
| Legs | Thin | Thicker and shorter |
| Other useful details | Compare the head and tail when visible | Colorado monitors note a long, banded tail with a rounded tip, and short, rounded wings |
The size and body comparisons come from Cornell Lab’s Cooper’s and Sharp-shinned Hawk identification guide; the Cooper’s Hawk tail and wing details are also described by Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s volunteer raptor monitors. Avoid relying on apparent size alone: viewing distance, posture and the lack of a familiar scale can make that comparison difficult. If the legs, shape and tail do not give a consistent answer, leave the identification open.
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No. These seven are the selected species in the original guide, not every hawk that can occur in Colorado. Colorado State Parks’ raptor-monitoring handbook includes Northern Harrier and Swainson’s Hawk among the state’s raptors, and a regional hawk-watching guide describes nine types found in Colorado.
Northern Harrier is the modern common name; an older Colorado winter guide uses “Marsh Hawk.” It describes the bird by a white rump, long tail and low flight with its wings held above horizontal. Swainson’s Hawk is another example beyond the selected seven. Its highly variable plumage is one reason not to treat color as a complete identification method.
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These examples also show why a list of species should not be read as a promise that every bird is widespread or easy to see. Monitoring records, broad state occurrence and a likely sighting at a particular place are different kinds of information. Local habitat and season still matter when interpreting what you see.
How should you use hawk pictures to check an identification?
Compare your image with a picture that shows the same view of the bird whenever possible: a perched bird is easier to compare with another perched bird, and a bird in flight with another flight view. Check whether the image shows the tail tip, underside, wings and head. A crop that hides the legs or tail can remove exactly the clues needed to separate similar species.
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Pictures are useful for checking a proposed identification, but captions and colors alone are not proof. Lighting can alter the apparent shade of a bird; distance can make proportions hard to judge; and the angle can conceal markings. When a feature cannot be seen, mark it as unknown instead of assuming it is present.
The A-Z Animals article that supplied the seven-species scope includes pictures and species descriptions, while the Colorado and Cornell resources linked above provide additional identification context. If you publish or reuse a photograph, verify its owner’s permission, license and attribution requirements individually. A visible credit does not by itself grant reuse rights.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a group of hawks migrating together called?
A large group of Broad-winged Hawks migrating together is often called a kettle. The Colorado-specific sources in this guide do not establish a dependable local date range or count for seeing one.
Can I identify a hawk from a photo alone?
Sometimes, if the image clearly shows several useful features, but not always. A distant, backlit or tightly cropped photo may hide the tail, legs or body proportions needed to distinguish similar species.
Why does a Colorado winter bird guide say “Marsh Hawk”?
That is an older common name used there for Northern Harrier. The current common name to use in this guide is Northern Harrier.
Where can I learn more about identifying raptors?
Cornell Lab’s Bird Academy offers a raptor identification course and links to a downloadable raptor reference guide. Check its page for current course and resource details.
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