You’re most likely to notice the orange coloration on the chest and underside of a Cooper’s Hawk if you can observe it perched on a branch. Male Cooper’s Hawks have reddish-orange bars on their underside, while their upperparts are grayish-blue. Sometimes it will even take species that are larger than itself. This little Florida hawk is agile and plenty of skill when it comes to catching small birds in flight. Wintering birds are most often Sharp-Shinned Hawks from Canada that spend the cold season in the Sunshine State. While Sharp-shinned Hawks don’t breed in Florida, they occur throughout the state outside of the breeding season. With blue-gray wings and back, and with orange feather patterns on their chests, these hawks are recognizable by their small size, agility, and distinctive behavior. Sharp-Shinned Hawkįrom the largest to the smallest hawk on the list, the sharp-shinned hawk is most commonly seen stalking song birds, making them a regular sight in backyards in the state. The Red-tailed Hawk is one of the most common hawk species in Florida, and can be seen throughout the Sunshine State year-round.

This bird of prey feeds on rodents and other small animals that it catches by swooping down from its perch when they venture out into the open. It is most often seen perched on roadside posts or fences, waiting for prey. This large Florida bird is common in open grassland and also in cities.

It has variable coloration, ranging from dark brown to almost entirely white, but can be readily recognized by its rusty red tail. With a wingspan of up to 52 in (4.5 ft), the Red-tailed Hawk is one of the larger species of hawks in Florida. Now let’s dive into the details, and take a closer look at each of these raptors of Florida: Hawks Red-tailed Hawk Yet other raptor species are winter visitors to Florida, and a few are vagrants that only rarely occur in the state. While many of these birds of prey are found all year in Florida, a number of them only occur in the state only during the breeding season in summer. Note that this list includes both diurnal birds of prey (hawks, eagles, falcons, harriers, and vultures), as well as nocturnal birds of prey (owls). The 25 types of birds of prey found in Florida are: What are the types of birds of prey in Florida? To help you identify the bird you saw, we’ll cover the most common birds of prey of Florida in this article. Identifying birds of prey in the Sunshine State is not as easy as it might seem, since there are many raptors that regularly occur in Florida. Did you recently come across a Florida bird of prey, and want to know what species it was?

Predator vs prey sharp shinned hawks