Buzzard vs Hawk for Kids
Buzzard and hawk are not opposite scientific groups. In British and European English, buzzard usually refers to broad-winged Buteo hawks. In North American speech, people sometimes use buzzard informally for a vulture, which creates confusion. For a fair species comparison, this page uses the common buzzard, Buteo buteo, and the red-tailed hawk, Buteo jamaicensis. They are close relatives in the same genus, built for similar soaring and perch-hunting jobs on different continents.
Common Buzzard
- Type: Bird
- Group: Species: Buteo buteo
- Known for: Stocky raptor body, long broad rounded wings, short fanned finely barred tail, highly variable brown-to-pale plumage, yellow legs, shallow-V soaring, and a catlike mewing call
- Diet: Carnivore
- Special skill: Riding warm rising air with broad wings, then switching among perch hunting, soaring searches, ground foraging, and scavenging as local food changes
Red-tailed Hawk
- Type: Bird
- Group: Species: Buteo jamaicensis
- Known for: Large stocky buteo shape, broad rounded wings, short wide tail that is usually cinnamon-red in adults, dark leading-edge wing marks, varied plumage, roadside perches, and a raspy scream
- Diet: Carnivore
- Special skill: Using thermals, wind, broad wings, and high roadside perches to scan large open areas before making a controlled feet-first descent toward prey
Quick Answer
Quick answer: A common buzzard is already a type of hawk: Buteo buteo. The red-tailed hawk is another close relative, Buteo jamaicensis. Both are stocky raptors with broad wings, short tails, hooked bills, strong talons, thermal soaring, and flexible diets. The common buzzard lives mainly across Europe and Asia and has extremely variable plumage; the red-tailed hawk lives in the Americas and most adults show a rusty-red tail.
Common Buzzard vs Red-tailed Hawk: Quick Comparison
| Feature | Common Buzzard | Red-tailed Hawk |
|---|---|---|
| Scientific name | Buteo buteo | Buteo jamaicensis |
| Taxonomy | A broad-winged hawk in family Accipitridae and genus Buteo | A broad-winged hawk in family Accipitridae and genus Buteo |
| Name clue | “Buzzard” is the normal British name for this true hawk | “Hawk” is the normal North American name; adults usually have a red tail |
| Size pattern | Large and stocky; BTO gives a UK average mass around 828 grams | Large and stocky; about 690–1,460 grams in Cornell measurements, with females generally larger |
| Plumage | Exceptionally variable from very dark brown to pale, usually with barred tail and dark wing edges | Variable brown, rufous, or dark forms; many show a belly band and dark leading-edge wing marks |
| Adult tail | Short, fanned, finely barred, and finished with a dark terminal band | Short and broad; usually cinnamon or brick red above, though some forms differ |
| Soaring shape | Broad rounded wings often held in a shallow V with a fanned tail | Broad rounded wings often held in a slight V, with a short wide tail |
| Range | Mainly Europe and Asia, with some migrants wintering in Africa | From Alaska and Canada through much of the United States and Mexico into Central America |
| Food and hunting | Rabbits, rodents, birds, amphibians, insects, earthworms, and carrion; hunts from perches, air, or ground | Mostly mammals plus birds, reptiles, and carrion; mainly a perch hunter with controlled dives |
| Standout clue | Catlike mewing call and dramatic individual colour variation | Adult red tail and famous raspy scream often borrowed for movie raptors |
How Are Buzzards and Hawks Alike?
- The common buzzard and red-tailed hawk are both true hawks in the same genus, Buteo.
- Both have hooked bills, powerful feet, curved talons, broad rounded wings, short tails, and excellent vision.
- Both save energy by soaring on thermals and updrafts over open or mixed country.
- Both are adaptable carnivores that hunt small animals and may also eat carrion.
- Both form breeding pairs, build large stick nests, lay eggs, and raise dependent chicks.
How Are Buzzards and Hawks Different?
- The common buzzard is native mainly to Europe and Asia, while the red-tailed hawk is native to North and Central America.
- Common buzzards vary from very dark to very pale, while a typical adult red-tail is brown with a warm red upper tail and dark leading-edge wing marks.
- The common buzzard’s tail is usually finely barred with a dark end band; an adult red-tail’s tail is usually rusty red, though juveniles and some forms differ.
- The common buzzard often gives a high mewing call, while the red-tailed hawk gives a harsh descending scream.
- The English word “buzzard” normally names Buteo hawks in Britain but can informally mean a vulture in North America; “red-tailed hawk” is a species-specific name.
Buzzard vs Hawk Showdown
Adaptation showdown: Size is a tie because common-buzzard and red-tailed-hawk measurements overlap strongly, sexes differ, and figures come from different regions. Speed is a tie because soaring, migration, controlled dives, and brief powered flight have not been measured under one matching test. Strength and stealth are ties between two similarly built Buteo hunters using comparable talons, bills, vision, camouflage, and perches. Social behaviour is a tie because both are mainly territorial pairs rather than permanently social flocks. Swimming is a tie because neither is a water specialist. The common buzzard wins the weirdest-fact prize for the naming puzzle: it is scientifically a hawk, even though “buzzard” can informally mean a vulture in North America.
Fun Buzzard vs Hawk Facts
A Buzzard Is Already a Hawk
The common buzzard belongs to the hawk-and-eagle family Accipitridae and the genus Buteo. Red-tailed hawks are also Buteo birds. English-speaking regions simply use different everyday naming traditions for these broad-winged soaring hawks.
Buzzard Can Also Be a Misleading Nickname
In Britain, “buzzard” correctly names hawks such as the common buzzard. In North America, people sometimes call turkey vultures or black vultures “buzzards,” although these New World vultures are not Buteo hawks. Scientific names prevent the nickname from changing the animal.
Not Every Red-tail Has a Red Tail
Young red-tailed hawks have brown, banded tails rather than the classic adult red tail. Some regional forms also differ: Harlan’s hawks can have dark or marbled tails with little obvious red. Age, light, location, shape, and wing marks all matter during identification.
Both Birds Ride Invisible Elevators
Sun-warmed ground creates rising columns of air called thermals. Broad wings let common buzzards and red-tailed hawks circle upward with little flapping, then glide onward or scan the ground. Ridges and strong winds can provide other forms of lift.
Movie Eagles Borrow a Hawk’s Voice
The red-tailed hawk’s harsh descending scream sounds dramatic, so film and television soundtracks often use it for many raptors, including eagles. A real bald eagle has a much higher, weaker-sounding call than the deep movie voice people may expect.
Buzzard vs Hawk Quiz
- Is a common buzzard a type of hawk? Answer: Yes. It is a Buteo hawk.
- Which benchmark hawk lives in the Americas? Answer: Red-tailed hawk.
- Which bird often gives a mewing call? Answer: Common buzzard.
- Do all red-tailed hawks have red tails? Answer: No. Juveniles and some forms have different tails.
- What rising air helps both birds soar? Answer: Thermals.
Buzzard vs Hawk FAQ
Is a buzzard a hawk?
Yes, when buzzard means the common buzzard or another Old World Buteo. These are true hawks in family Accipitridae. The word is also used informally for vultures in parts of North America, which causes confusion.
What hawk is used on this page?
The species benchmark is the red-tailed hawk, Buteo jamaicensis. It provides a clear North American counterpart to the common buzzard, Buteo buteo.
Which is bigger, a common buzzard or a red-tailed hawk?
Their size ranges overlap. Large female red-tails can exceed many common buzzards, but sex, subspecies, region, and measurement method matter, so the showdown keeps size as a tie.
What is the easiest way to tell them apart?
Location is the first clue because their normal ranges do not overlap much. Then check the whole pattern: common buzzards have a barred tail, variable underwings, and a mewing call; typical adult red-tails have a rusty tail and dark leading-edge wing marks.
Should people approach a perched buzzard or hawk?
No. Watch wild raptors from a respectful distance, never climb toward nests or chicks, and do not feed, flush, trap, or handle a bird. Contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator if a bird appears injured.
Animal Words to Know
- Buteo: A genus of broad-winged soaring hawks that includes common buzzards and red-tailed hawks.
- Carrion: Dead animal material eaten by scavengers.
- Plumage morph: One of several naturally occurring feather-colour forms within a species.
- Raptor: A bird with adaptations such as strong vision, a hooked bill, and grasping talons.
- Thermal: A column of warm rising air that birds can use to gain height.
Build a Buteo Field-Guide Wheel
Build a Buteo Field-Guide Wheel
Draw two broad-winged raptors at the same scale. Give the common buzzard a barred fan-shaped tail, shallow-V soaring pose, and three small colour-morph examples from dark to pale. Give the adult red-tailed hawk a rusty-red tail, pale underside with a belly band, and dark leading-edge wing marks. Around them, add labelled wedges for continent, range, wing shape, tail, call, perch hunting, thermal soaring, nest, egg, chick, and carrion. Add a note that “buzzard” may mean different birds in different regions.
Meet Each Animal
Want the full fact file? Here are quick highlights from each animal’s own facts page.
Common Buzzard Fact Highlight
From the full animal facts pageRed-tailed Hawk Fact Highlight
From the full animal facts pageMore Animal Comparisons
Pick another animal matchup and keep exploring. Tiny facts, big questions, very serious animal business.
Make an Animal Story
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