Hawk vs Eagle vs Falcon: Size, Speed, Strength, and Key Differences

Quick answer: eagles are the largest and most powerful of the three, falcons are the fastest and have long, pointed wings, and hawks are mid-sized hunters with broad, rounded wings. Hawks and eagles belong to the same family (Accipitridae) and kill with their talons. Falcons belong to a separate family (Falconidae), are more closely related to parrots than to hawks, and finish prey with a bite from a notched beak (Jarvis et al. 2014).

People search this topic in every word order, from “eagle vs hawk vs falcon” to “falcon vs hawk vs eagle”, but the questions behind it are the same: which is bigger, which is faster, which is stronger, who would win in a fight, and how do you tell them apart? This guide answers each one in its own section, then covers the birds most often confused with them: vultures, kites and ospreys.

All size numbers are ranges from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology unless noted. We use common North American species as examples (red-tailed hawk, bald eagle, peregrine falcon), with the harpy eagle and others for scale.

How to Tell a Hawk, Eagle and Falcon Apart in 10 Seconds

Hawk: broad, rounded wings

Eagle: long, plank-like wings

Falcon: narrow, pointed wings

Have a photo? Our bird identifier by picture can suggest likely species from a single image, which helps with young birds and tricky angles.

What Is a Hawk?

“Hawk” is a common name, not a single scientific group. In North America it covers two main types (Cornell Lab):

• Buteos such as the red-tailed hawk: stocky, broad-winged hawks that soar in circles and drop onto rodents and rabbits. In the UK these are called buzzards.
• Accipiters such as Cooper’s and sharp-shinned hawks: short wings and long tails for fast, twisting chases through trees after songbirds and doves (Cornell Lab).

Learn how hawks grow from egg to adult in our hawk life cycle guide, or read the red-tailed hawk species guide.

What Is an Eagle?

In other words, an eagle is roughly “a very big hawk”. Eagles come from several separate lineages: sea and fish eagles such as the bald eagle, booted eagles such as the golden eagle (feathered all the way down to the toes), and forest eagles such as the harpy eagle.

Eagles have the largest heads and deepest beaks of the three groups, long and broad wings for soaring, and the biggest feet and talons. Most species live in Africa and Asia; only two, the bald and golden eagle, occur in the United States and Canada (BirdLife International).

Compare the two North American eagles in bald eagle vs golden eagle, or meet one of the heaviest eagles on Earth in our harpy eagle guide.

What Is a Falcon?

The peregrine falcon is the best-known species and the fastest animal in a dive (Guinness World Records). Small falcons that hover are called kestrels, and slim, agile species are called hobbies. Falcons are also famous in falconry, the ancient practice of hunting with trained birds of prey.

Old American names show how often falcons were mistaken for hawks: the peregrine was once the “duck hawk” and the American kestrel the “sparrow hawk”. Neither is a hawk.

Falconry questions: why do falcons wear hoods?, are falconry hoods cruel?, why do falconers wear gloves? and why are falcons so expensive?. For growth and breeding, see the falcon life cycle.

Are Falcons Related to Hawks and Eagles?

For most of the 20th century, falcons, hawks and eagles were grouped together in one order. A whole-genome study of 48 bird species in 2014 showed that falcons belong to a branch called Australaves, with seriemas, parrots and songbirds, while hawks and eagles sit in Afroaves with owls, woodpeckers and others (Jarvis et al. 2014; EurekAlert!).

Hooked beaks and sharp talons evolved separately in the two groups because both took up the same job: catching live animals. Biologists call this convergent evolution.

Size Comparison: Which Is Bigger, a Hawk, Eagle or Falcon?

Speed: Which Is Fastest, a Hawk, Eagle or Falcon?

Frightful’s speed was recorded with a tiny altimeter attached to her tail feathers while she dived alongside her owner, a skydiver, after release from a Cessna at 17,000 ft (Air & Space). Tracking radar in Switzerland measured two wild peregrine stoops at 130 and 184 km/h (Peter & Kestenholz 1998). Both are real; they measure different situations.

In level flight, raptors are not especially fast. Radar measurements of 138 bird species found typical cruising airspeeds of about 29–83 km/h (Alerstam et al. 2007). A peregrine’s extreme speed comes from gravity plus a streamlined, tucked body shape (Ponitz et al. 2014).

Strength: Which Is Strongest?

The best direct data come from Sustaita and Hertel, who had live accipiter hawks and falcons bite and grip a force sensor. After adjusting for body weight, falcons bit harder and accipiters gripped harder, which matches how each kills (Sustaita & Hertel 2010). They also found that the forces were much lower than predicted from muscle anatomy, and low compared with seed-eating birds.

Talons and Beaks: How Each One Kills

Eagle talons

Falcon beak with tomial tooth

Raptors also see detail far better than we do. Try our animal vision simulator to compare eagle, hawk and falcon eyesight with human vision.

What Do Hawks, Eagles and Falcons Eat?

How They Hunt

Hawks: soar, perch and ambush

Red-tails watch from poles and trees or circle on rising air, then drop onto prey. Cooper’s hawks use cover to surprise birds with short, fast chases.

Eagles: power, patience and piracy

Bald eagles snatch fish from the surface and often steal from other birds. Golden eagles glide low over hills to surprise rabbits and ground squirrels.

Falcons: speed and the stoop

Peregrines climb high and dive onto flying birds. Kestrels hover over fields and drop onto insects and voles.

Hawk vs Eagle: Key Differences

Red-tailed hawk

Bald eagle

Young bald eagles are brown all over for their first few years and are often mistaken for hawks. Size is the giveaway: even a young eagle is far larger than a red-tail. See our bald eagle guide and bald eagle life cycle.

Eagle vs Falcon: Key Differences

Golden eagle

Peregrine falcon

Hawk vs Falcon: Key Differences

Cooper’s hawk

American kestrel (falcon)

Field tip: a perched falcon’s wingtips reach close to the tip of its tail, and many falcons show a dark stripe below the eye. A perched accipiter shows short wings and a long tail. See the peregrine falcon guide.

Hawk vs Eagle vs Falcon: Who Would Win in a Fight?

We do not score imaginary fights. Instead, here is what field studies have actually recorded when these birds meet. A review of 39 studies found that raptors killing other raptors is widespread and size-based (Sergio & Hiraldo 2008).

What Annoys an Eagle? Mobbing and Food Theft

Mobbing works because a raptor that has been spotted has lost the element of surprise, and the small birds are more maneuverable than the big one. Mobbing calls also recruit other birds to join in (Cornell Lab; Audubon). Even small songbirds will chase large hawks high in the sky, far from any nest (The Nature Conservancy).

Eagles also annoy other raptors: bald eagles chase ospreys until they drop their fish (Audubon) and rob peregrines and hawks, as shown in the encounters table above.

Hawk vs Eagle vs Falcon vs Vulture, Kite and Osprey

Turkey vulture

Red kite

Osprey

What Do Hawks, Eagles and Falcons Sound Like?

Audubon calls the dubbed hawk scream the most common bird error on screen: nearly every time a bald eagle appears, it gets a red-tailed hawk’s voice because it sounds more dramatic (Audubon). One raptor expert described the real bald eagle call as sounding “like a seagull with laryngitis” (Maine Public).

Recorded a raptor call? Try our bird sound identifier or the general animal sound identifier.

Where Do Hawks, Eagles and Falcons Live?

Common Hawk, Eagle and Falcon Species to Know

Red-tailed hawk

Hawk · Buteo

North America’s most familiar hawk, often seen on roadside poles. Rusty red tail in adults.

Red-tailed hawk guide

Cooper’s hawk

Hawk · Accipiter

A crow-sized bird hunter that often visits backyard feeders to catch doves and songbirds.

Cornell species page

Bald eagle

Eagle · Sea eagle

The US national bird: a fish-eating eagle of lakes, rivers and coasts, and a skilled food thief.

Bald eagle guide

Golden eagle

Eagle · Booted eagle

A powerful hunter of open country across the Northern Hemisphere, with a golden nape.

Golden eagle guide

Harpy eagle

Eagle · Forest eagle

A rainforest giant of Central and South America that hunts sloths and monkeys.

Harpy eagle guide

Peregrine falcon

Falcon

The fastest animal in a dive, found on every continent except Antarctica and in many cities.

Peregrine falcon guide

American kestrel

Falcon · Kestrel

North America’s smallest falcon, a colorful hunter of insects and mice that perches on wires.

Cornell species page

Gyrfalcon

Falcon

The largest falcon, an Arctic species that ranges from dark gray to almost pure white.

Why falcons are so expensive

Hawk vs Eagle vs Falcon in Arabic

Are Hawks, Eagles and Falcons Protected?

• It is illegal in the US to kill, capture or keep native raptors, or to possess their feathers, without a permit (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service).
• The Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act also prohibits disturbing eagles (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service).
• Both the peregrine falcon and the bald eagle declined sharply in the 20th century, largely because of DDT, and recovered after it was banned (Cornell Lab: peregrine; bald eagle).
• Falconry is legal in many countries but tightly regulated with permits and training.

Hawk vs Eagle vs Falcon FAQs

Sources

Measurements come from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and zoo species accounts; speed, strength and encounter data come from peer-reviewed studies and record bodies; taxonomy follows the 2014 whole-genome bird tree. Photos and sound recordings are from Wikimedia Commons under the licenses credited with each one.

• Cornell Lab of Ornithology, All About Birds — Red-tailed Hawk identification and measurements
• Cornell Lab, All About Birds — Cooper’s Hawk identification and measurements
• Cornell Lab, All About Birds — Sharp-shinned Hawk identification and measurements
• Cornell Lab, All About Birds — Bald Eagle identification and measurements
• Cornell Lab, All About Birds — Golden Eagle identification and measurements
• Cornell Lab, All About Birds — Peregrine Falcon identification and measurements
• Cornell Lab, All About Birds — Gyrfalcon identification and measurements
• Cornell Lab, All About Birds — American Kestrel identification and measurements
• Cornell Lab, All About Birds — Osprey identification and measurements
• Cornell Lab, All About Birds — Turkey Vulture identification and measurements
• Cornell Lab, All About Birds — “What’s going on when I see little birds going after a big bird?” (mobbing)
• San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance — Harpy Eagle (size and weight)
• BirdLife International — Eagle (68 species; defined by prey size rather than relatedness)
• Encyclopaedia Britannica — Falcon
• Nature Alberta — What’s the difference between hawks, eagles, and falcons?
• Jarvis ED, et al. (2014). Whole-genome analyses resolve early branches in the tree of life of modern birds. Science 346:1320–1331
• Science News (2014) — New tree of life confirms strange history of birds
• EurekAlert! / NSF (2014) — “Big bang” of bird evolution mapped by international research team
• Guinness World Records — Fastest bird (diving)
• Air & Space / Smithsonian — Falling with the Falcon (how Frightful’s dive speed was measured)
• Peter D, Kestenholz M (1998). Stoops of Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus and Barbary Falcon F. pelegrinoides. Der Ornithologische Beobachter 95:107–112 (radar-measured dive speeds)
• Alerstam T, et al. (2007). Flight speeds among bird species: allometric and phylogenetic effects. PLoS Biology 5(8):e197
• Ponitz B, et al. (2014). Diving-flight aerodynamics of a peregrine falcon (Falco peregrinus). PLoS ONE 9(2):e86506
• Sustaita D, Hertel F (2010). In vivo bite and grip forces, morphology and prey-killing behavior of North American accipiters (Accipitridae) and falcons (Falconidae). Journal of Experimental Biology 213:2617–2628
• Dekker D (1995). Prey capture by Peregrine Falcons wintering on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Journal of Raptor Research 29(1):26–29
• Dekker D, Bogaert L. Peregrine Falcon predation on Dunlins and ducks and kleptoparasitic interference from Bald Eagles wintering at Boundary Bay, British Columbia. Journal of Raptor Research
• Jorde DG, Lingle GR. Kleptoparasitism by Bald Eagles wintering in south-central Nebraska. Journal of Field Ornithology
• Sergio F, Hiraldo F (2008). Intraguild predation in raptor assemblages: a review. Ibis 150 (Suppl. 1):132–145
• National Audubon Society — Osprey field guide (bald eagles chasing ospreys for fish)
• Audubon / BirdNote — Mobbing: when smaller birds join forces to fend off larger birds
• The Nature Conservancy (Cool Green Science) — Why do little birds mob big birds?
• Audubon — Birdist Rule #50: Learn to live with bird errors in TV and movies
• Maine Public (2025) — Hollywood has been lying about what bald eagles really sound like
• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service — Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918
• U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service — Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act
• Arabic Wikipedia — ⁨عقاب⁩ (eagle)
• Arabic Wikipedia — ⁨نسر⁩ (vulture / “nasr”)
• Arabic Wikipedia — ⁨صقر⁩ (falcon)

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