How many species of hawks are there?
This seemingly easy question is actually quite complex. First of all, we have to define the word “hawk”. In North America, the word hawk is used to describe both soaring hawks (Buteos) such as Red-tailed Hawks, and forest hawks (Accipiters) such as Cooper’s Hawks. In Europe; however, the soaring hawks are commonly called buzzards. For ease of answering this question, we will use the North American terminology. Hawks are part of the Accipitridae family, of which there are 238 species worldwide, and 28 species in North America. This family includes kites, harriers, hawks, and eagles. Hawks comprise 17 of these 28 North American species. Additionally, there are 4 species of eagle, 7 species of falcon, and 22 species of owl in North America. These figures include both common North American residents, and a few species that make rare, but well documented visits to North America.
