Hawks & Eagles in Switzerland
Our list for Switzerland has 12 hawks & eagles recorded regularly there: 5 residents, 3 summer visitors, 1 winter visitor and 3 passage migrants
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in Switzerland in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 12, most common first
Red KiteMilvus milvusResidentCommon60–66 cmRecorded all year
BuzzardButeo buteoResidentCommon51–57 cmRecorded all year
SparrowhawkAccipiter nisusResidentCommon28–38 cmRecorded all year
Western Marsh-harrierCircus aeruginosusSummer visitorUncommon48–56 cmRecorded all year
Golden EagleAquila chrysaetosResidentUncommon66–102 cmRecorded all year
European Honey-buzzardPernis apivorusSummer visitorUncommon52–60 cmRegularly May–Sep
Hen HarrierCircus cyaneusWinter visitorUncommon41–52 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Griffon VultureGyps fulvusSummer visitorUncommon93–122 cmRegularly May–Sep
Northern GoshawkAstur gentilisResidentUncommon46–61 cmRecorded all year
Montagu's HarrierCircus pygargusPassage migrantRare43–47 cmRegularly Apr–Sep
Cinereous VultureAegypius monachusPassage migrantRare98–120 cmRegularly Jul–Sep
White-tailed Sea-eagleHaliaeetus albicillaPassage migrantRare66–94 cmRegularly Sep–Mar
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Sparrowhawk 28–38 cm
- Montagu's Harrier 43–47 cm
- Hen Harrier 41–52 cm
- Western Marsh-harrier 48–56 cm
- Northern Goshawk 46–61 cm
- Buzzard 51–57 cm
- European Honey-buzzard 52–60 cm
- Red Kite 60–66 cm
- White-tailed Sea-eagle 66–94 cm
- Golden Eagle 66–102 cm
- Griffon Vulture 93–122 cm
- Cinereous Vulture 98–120 cm
Body length, bill to tail. Rare birds in grey.
Data: EOD – eBird Observation Dataset (Cornell Lab of Ornithology), accessed via GBIF.org, CC BY 4.0. Records from 2019–2024, aggregated and filtered by Birdfact. How these lists are made