Hawks in New York City and how to identify them
Red-tailed, Cooper's, Sharp-shinned, kestrel, Merlin, Peregrine: the hawks and falcons reported in NYC, the one mark that splits each pair, and when.
In short
- Eleven hawks, falcons and eagles turn up in our NYC report data; Red-tailed Hawk is common in reports in nine months of the year.
- The tricky pair is Cooper's and Sharp-shinned Hawk: same colors, so judge head, tail tip and legs, never size alone.
- Three falcons are reported in the city: American Kestrel, Merlin and Peregrine Falcon, which the city has tracked on bridges and buildings.
- Fall brings the most variety: Broad-winged Hawk in September, then Sharp-shinned Hawk and Merlin at their most reported in October.
Hawks, falcons, eagles and vultures reported in NYC
Sorted by how often they are reported; at least rare. Bars: January to December, taller = reported more often.
| Bird | Year in NYC | October | Length | Field mark |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis | common Jan–May, fairly common Jun–Aug, common Sep–Dec | common | 20 in | Adults have a broad rusty-red tail. |
OspreyPandion haliaetus | not expected Jan–Feb, uncommon Mar, fairly common Apr–May, common Jun–Sep, fairly common Oct, rare Nov, not expected Dec | fairly common | 23 in | Broad dark eye stripe crosses an otherwise white head. |
Cooper's HawkAstur cooperii | fairly common Jan–Mar, uncommon Apr–May, rare Jun–Jul, uncommon Aug, fairly common Sep–Dec | fairly common | 16.5 in | Large, projecting head and rounded tail with shorter outer tail feathers. |
American KestrelFalco sparverius | fairly common Jan–Mar, uncommon Apr–Aug, fairly common Sep–Dec | fairly common | 9 in | Two bold black vertical stripes mark each side of the face. |
Peregrine FalconFalco peregrinus | fairly common Jan–Feb, uncommon Mar–Jul, fairly common Aug–Dec | fairly common | 16 in | Broad black mustache below the eye contrasts with a pale cheek. |
Turkey VultureCathartes aura | uncommon Jan–Feb, fairly common Mar–Apr, uncommon May–Oct, fairly common Nov, uncommon Dec | uncommon | 26 in | Soars with wings raised in a shallow V, often rocking side to side. |
MerlinFalco columbarius | uncommon Jan–Mar, rare Apr–May, not expected Jun–Jul, rare Aug, uncommon Sep, fairly common Oct, uncommon Nov–Dec | fairly common | 10 in | Compact falcon with heavily streaked underparts and a dark, narrowly banded tail. |
Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatus | uncommon Jan–Feb, rare Mar–Apr, not expected May–Aug, uncommon Sep, fairly common Oct, uncommon Nov–Dec | fairly common | 11 in | Small head and squared tail, often with a shallow central notch. |
Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalus | uncommon Jan–Apr, rare May–Jul, uncommon Aug–Dec | uncommon | 31.5 in | White head and tail contrast with a massive dark brown body. |
Northern HarrierCircus hudsonius | uncommon Jan–Mar, rare Apr, not expected May–Jul, rare Aug, uncommon Sep–Dec | uncommon | 18 in | White rump patch shows while gliding low with wings held in a V. |
Red-shouldered HawkButeo lineatus | uncommon Jan, rare Feb, not expected Mar–Sep, rare Oct, uncommon Nov–Dec | rare | 18 in | Black tail crossed by several narrow white bands. |
Broad-winged HawkButeo platypterus | not expected Jan–Aug, uncommon Sep, rare Oct, not expected Nov–Dec | rare | 15.5 in | Short tail with a broad white band between dark bands. |
Black VultureCoragyps atratus | rare Jan–May, not expected Jun–Jul, rare Aug, not expected Sep, rare Oct–Dec | rare | 25 in | White patches confined to wingtips contrast with otherwise black wings and short tail. |
Seasonal data: eBird Observation Dataset (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) via GBIF.org, CC BY 4.0, 2021–2025. Status is our own index: how often a bird is reported, relative to the most-reported bird that month (reports, not a promise of a sighting).
Most hawks you see in New York City belong to a short list. Our data, an index of the eBird Observation Dataset (Cornell Lab of Ornithology, via GBIF, CC BY 4.0, 2021–2025), has eleven hawks, falcons and eagles reported in the five boroughs. Sizes and marks below come from the National Audubon Society's field guide. A field mark is a feature you can see that helps you name a bird, such as a tail band or a face stripe. No single mark is enough on its own.
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk is the most reported hawk in our NYC data. It is common in NYC reports from September to May and fairly common in summer. Audubon puts females at 19 to 26 inches long, about the size of a Herring Gull, with a wingspan of up to 52 inches. Look for a white chest crossed by a dark belly band of streaks. From below in flight, the front edge of the inner wing looks dark. Adults have a reddish tail above; young birds have a brown tail with dark bars, so do not wait for red on a young bird. The call is a hoarse, falling scream. The city's WildlifeNYC program says Red-tails here eat mostly rats and mice and nest on trees, buildings and bridges.
Cooper's Hawk and Sharp-shinned Hawk
These two hunt birds in the trees and look almost the same: adults blue-gray above and pale reddish below, young birds brown above and streaked below. Cooper's is the bigger one, 15 to 18 inches long, while a Sharp-shin is 10 to 14 inches. A female Sharp-shin can be nearly as big as a male Cooper's, so size alone fails.
The separating marks are shape. Cooper's has a larger head, a longer tail with a more rounded tip and often a wider white tip, thicker legs, and a darker cap in adults. The Sharp-shin looks small-headed, with pencil-thin legs and a square-tipped tail. Timing helps too. Cooper's Hawk is fairly common in NYC reports from September to March and still reported in summer. Sharp-shinned Hawk is fairly common only in October and not expected from May to August. So a summer bird of this type in the city is much more likely a Cooper's.
American Kestrel
A small, long-tailed falcon, about 9 to 12 inches long, between a robin and a crow in size. Audubon's key mark is two sharp stripes on the face. Males have blue-gray wings against a red-brown back and tail; females are red-brown above with narrow dark bars. Kestrels watch from a high perch and sometimes hover over open ground. They are fairly common in NYC reports from September to March and uncommon from April to August.
Merlin
A Merlin is a small falcon, 10 to 14 inches long, relatively short-tailed and streaked below. Females and young birds are brown above, males blue-gray, and the dark tail has narrow pale bands. It lacks the kestrel's red-brown back. Against a Sharp-shin, Audubon points to the wingtips, pointed on the Merlin and rounded on the hawk, and to the pale tail bands the hawk lacks. Merlin is fairly common in NYC reports in October, uncommon in winter, and not expected from May to July.
Peregrine Falcon
The large falcon of the city, 14 to 19 inches long, between a crow and a Herring Gull in size. Look for pointed wings, strong shallow wingbeats and a dark hooded head. Adults are blue-gray above and narrowly barred below; young birds are browner and streaked. Audubon notes that Peregrines often move into cities, nesting on building ledges and feeding on pigeons. In NYC, a 2006 release of the Department of Environmental Protection described its Peregrine Falcon Program with the state's Department of Environmental Conservation: nest boxes, health checks and banding. Peregrines are fairly common in NYC reports from August to February and uncommon in spring and summer.
Osprey
A very large, long-winged hunter that eats almost entirely fish, 21 to 23 inches long with a wingspan of 5 to 6 feet. In flight the wings bend at the wrist and are held above horizontal, so from afar it can look like a big gull. It is sharply patterned below with black wrist patches, dark above, with a black face stripe. Osprey are common in NYC reports from June to September, arrive in March and are not expected from December to February.
Bald Eagle and the Turkey Vulture look-alike
An adult Bald Eagle, with its white head and tail on a brown body, is hard to miss; Audubon says the full adult look takes about five and a half years. Young eagles are dark brown with whitish mottling and cause most confusion. Bald Eagle is uncommon in NYC reports from August to April and rare from May to July.
The other huge dark soaring bird is the Turkey Vulture, 25 to 32 inches long. It holds its wings in a shallow V, has a small head and shows two-toned underwings, black linings against gray flight feathers. Turkey Vulture is fairly common in NYC reports in March, April and November.
Northern Harrier
A long-tailed hawk, 16 to 24 inches long, that flies low and slow over marsh and fields, wings raised in a shallow V. The white rump patch is the mark to look for. Males are gray with black wingtips; females and young birds are brown. Northern Harrier is uncommon in NYC reports from September to March and not expected from May to August.
Rarer ones worth knowing
- Red-shouldered Hawk is uncommon to rare in NYC reports, mostly from October to February; look for reddish shoulders and narrow black-and-white bands on the wings and tail.
- Broad-winged Hawk is uncommon in reports in September and rare in October; it is chunky and compact, adults show broad tail bands, and it migrates in flocks that Audubon calls kettles.
- Black Vulture is rarely reported in NYC; Audubon flags it as the look-alike to compare with the Turkey Vulture.
How to be sure
Note shape before color: wing shape, tail length and tip, head size, and how the bird flies, whether it soars, flaps and glides, or dashes. Then check where and when, because the month alone rules out several birds. Get a photo from below and one from the side if you can, and judge it from more than one mark. If you are still unsure, run it through the bird finder. Watch from a distance and never approach a nest or a young hawk on the ground; WildlifeNYC says its parents are likely nearby. For night raptors, see owls in New York City, and for the fall push, see migration timing in NYC.
Questions we get
Which hawks nest in New York City?
The city's WildlifeNYC program describes Red-tailed Hawks nesting on trees, buildings and bridges, and the Department of Environmental Protection has run a Peregrine Falcon Program with New York State since at least 2006, with nest boxes and banding. Keep well back from any nest, and never post its location.
How do I tell a Red-tailed Hawk from a Cooper's Hawk?
Shape first. The Red-tail has broad wings, a short tail and a dark belly band on a white chest. Cooper's has rounded wings, a long tail with a rounded tip and, in adults, a dark cap. Red-tails often soar or sit in the open; Cooper's dashes through trees after birds.
Are there falcons in Manhattan?
Yes. Peregrine Falcon, American Kestrel and Merlin are all reported in NYC. A 2006 city release listed active Peregrine nest sites on bridges and buildings across the city, Manhattan among them. Peregrines are fairly common in reports from August to February.
When do hawks migrate past NYC?
Mostly in fall. Broad-winged Hawk shows up in our data only in September and October, Sharp-shinned Hawk and Merlin peak in October, and Osprey arrive from March. Our migration timing guide covers the peaks in more detail.
Keep reading
How we know
- EOD – eBird Observation Dataset, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, via GBIF.org (CC BY 4.0), records 2021–2025 (gbif.org)
- WildlifeNYC (City of New York) — Red-Tailed Hawks (nyc.gov)
- NYC Department of Environmental Protection — Press advisory 06-03 on the Peregrine Falcon Program (2006) (nyc.gov)
- National Audubon Society — Guide to North American Birds: Red-tailed Hawk (audubon.org)
- National Audubon Society — Guide to North American Birds: Cooper's Hawk (audubon.org)
- National Audubon Society — Guide to North American Birds: Sharp-shinned Hawk (audubon.org)
- National Audubon Society — Guide to North American Birds: American Kestrel (audubon.org)
- National Audubon Society — Guide to North American Birds: Merlin (audubon.org)
- National Audubon Society — Guide to North American Birds: Peregrine Falcon (audubon.org)
- National Audubon Society — Guide to North American Birds: Osprey (audubon.org)
- National Audubon Society — Guide to North American Birds: Bald Eagle (audubon.org)
- National Audubon Society — Guide to North American Birds: Turkey Vulture (audubon.org)
- National Audubon Society — Guide to North American Birds: Northern Harrier (audubon.org)
- National Audubon Society — Guide to North American Birds: Red-shouldered Hawk (audubon.org)
- National Audubon Society — Guide to North American Birds: Broad-winged Hawk (audubon.org)
Seasonal patterns are guides, not promises of a sighting. Check current access rules and conditions before heading out. Give birds space, stay on open paths and avoid disturbing nests or roosts.