15 Difference Between Hawk and Falcon (With Table)

Hawks and falcons are birds of prey in flight. They both have hooked beaks to enable them to tear flesh from their prey. Many have confused the two but they are quite different. They differ in size. Hawks have a large body size as compared to falcons.

The main difference between hawk and falcon is that hawks have wider wings with rounded ends while falcons have slender, long wings pointed at the end.

You May Also Like: Difference between Eagle and Hawk

Comparison Table (Hawk vs Falcon)

Characteristics	Hawk	Falcon
Meaning	Refers to a bird species that belong to the Accipitridae subfamily.	Refers to a bird that belongs to the genus Falco.
Family	Belongs to the family Accipitridae.	Belongs to the family Falconidae.
Species	It is over 250 species.	It is about 37 species.
Size	It is comparatively large in body size.	It is comparatively smaller in body size.
Wings	Has wider wings with rounded ends.	Has long, slender, and pointed end wings.
Flight pattern	Flap the wings slowly and glide more often.	Rapidly beat their wings and glide for a short period of time.
beak	Has a simple curve on the beak.	Has a notch on the beak.
Head	Has a sleek pointed head.	Has a short-rounded head.
Color	It has gray to reddish-brown on top and whitish from the bottom.	It is black, silver, red or white in color.
Color of eggs	Whitish or light blue eggs with brown spots.	Whitish eggs with brown markings.
Number of eggs	They lay 2-7 eggs.	They lay 3-4 eggs.
Nesting	They build bulky nests made of sticks.	They build nests on man-made structures such as towers and buildings.
Prey	Their preys are rabbits, rats, mice, gophers, and grasshoppers.	Their preys are small doves such as pigeons and doves.
Hunting prey	They use talons on their feet to kill their prey.	They grab their prey with their beaks.
Significance	Has incomparable eyesight and hunting abilities.	Fastest flying birds with a speed exceeding 300km/h.

What is Hawk?

Hawk is a bird of prey in flight. It is a bird species that belong to the family Accipitridae subfamily. The genus Accipiter comprises of largest and common hawks. They live in woodlands and this makes them build their nests using sticks as they are the available materials to be used. They build very large nests.

They have sharp eyesight and this makes them able to spot their prey from a distance hence easy to capture their prey. They use their talons on their feet to kill their prey. Their hunting involves unexpected dash from the hidden place hence attacking their prey easily.

They have long tails which is the main character that makes them different. They feed on rabbits, rats, mice, gophers, and grasshoppers. They are mainly carnivores.

You Can Also Read: Can Cockatiels Eat Strawberries?

What is Falcon?

A falcon is a bird of prey in flight that belongs to the genus Falco. The birds that belong to this genus are characterized by long wings and powerful beaks. Their wings are long and pointed at the ends. This makes them adapt to flying fast and change the direction of flight easily. This makes it the fastest creature on earth.

They have hooked beaks with a notch and this simply helps them to capture and tear the flesh from the prey. Their beaks are strong hence they grab their prey using their beaks. They break the neck of their prey using the angular bend on the neck.

They build their nests on man-made structures like towers and buildings and this makes them be near their prey which is pigeons and doves.

You May Also Like: Difference between Mink and Weasel

Main Differences between Hawk and Falcon

Hawks are comparatively larger in body size while falcons are small.
Hawks have wider wings with rounded ends while falcons have slender, long, and pointed-end wings.
Hawks use talons on their feet to kill their prey while falcons grab their prey using their beaks.
Hawks build bulky nests in the woodlands made of sticks while falcons build their nests on man-made structures such as towers and buildings.
Hawks have sleek pointed heads while falcons have short-rounded heads.
Hawks have a simple curve on the beak while falcons have a notch on their beaks.
Hawks have gray to reddish-brown color on top and whitish from the bottom while falcons have a red, silver, black or white color.
Hawks lay 2-7 eggs while falcons lay 3-4 eggs.

Similarities between Hawk and Falcon

They are both carnivores.
They are both birds of prey in flight.
Both are large in size.
Both are white, brown, or gray in color.
They both build their nests up.

You Can Also Read: Can Cockatiels Eat Rice?

In Conclusion

Both hawks and falcons are birds of prey in flight. Hawks have wider wings with rounded ends while and falcons have slender, long, and pointed-end wings. Hawks have sharp eyesight which enables them to catch their prey easily while the falcons are very fast and that enables them to also catch their prey easily. The main feature that makes hawks different from falcons is the type of wings they have.

More sources and references: