With an area of 268,820 square miles, Texas is far and away the largest state in the continental United States. Positioned just north of Mexico, Texas is also right in the migratory path of many different species of birds. So it would make sense that there are quite a few different species of hawks in Texas.
Hawks are birds of prey and in the same family as eagles and kites, the family Accipitridae. Within our list, we include both Accipiters, known for their agility and skill in hunting in wooded areas, and Buteos, recognized for their broad wings and soaring flight. Interestingly, while ‘buzzard’ refers to certain Old World Buteos, in the New World, both Accipiters and Buteos are commonly categorized as hawks, reflecting a distinction in common naming conventions across different regions.
There are over 200 species of hawks in the world with up to 25 of those species living in the United States. We’ve found that at least 15 of these hawks can be found in Texas.
This article contains the species of hawks I was able to verify as having at least a limited range in some part of Texas through allaboutbirds.org and other sources. Each hawk on the list has a picture, some measurements, and a little bit about each. Enjoy!
15 Types of Hawks in Texas
Below is a list of the 15 species of hawks in Texas. Some are year long residents while others are rare and only in the southern most tip of the state. A few species like the Great Black Hawk, Short-tailed Hawk, Crane Hawk, and the Roadside Hawk were left off of this list as they are rare vagrants in Texas that really don’t belong on the list.
One thing all of these birds do have in common is that they are all part of the New World hawk family and they have all been known to live in Texas in some capacity.
- Red-tailed Hawk
- Red-shouldered Hawk
- Swainson’s Hawk
- Broad-winged Hawk
- Harris’s Hawk
- Ferruginous Hawk
- Rough-legged Hawk
- Cooper’s Hawk
- Sharp-shinned Hawk
- Gray Hawk
- White-tailed Hawk
- Northern Goshawk
- Zone-tailed Hawk
- Northern Harrier
- Common Black Hawk
*All measurements are based on averages of males and females of the species
1. Red-tailed Hawk
Scientific name: Buteo jamaicensis
Length: 17.7-25.6 in
Weight: 24.3-51.5 oz
Wingspan: 44.9-52.4 in
First up is definitely one of the most common hawks in Texas and North America, the Red-tailed Hawk. They are year-round resident to the entire state of Texas and most of the United States aside from a portion of the mid-west where they migrate for breeding only. Red-tails are one of the largest birds of prey in North America.