Hawks & Eagles in California
Our list for California has 6 hawks & eagles recorded regularly there: 3 residents, 2 winter visitors and 1 passage migrant
Most likely in October
GBIF · OctShare of all bird records in California in October, 2019–2024. Each month links to that month’s page.
All 6, most common first
Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensisResidentCommon45–65 cmRecorded all year
Bald EagleHaliaeetus leucocephalusResidentUncommon70–102 cmRecorded all year
Sharp-shinned HawkAccipiter striatusWinter visitorUncommon24–34 cmRecorded all year
Golden EagleAquila chrysaetosResidentUncommon66–102 cmRecorded all year
Rough-legged HawkButeo lagopusWinter visitorRare46–59 cmRegularly Oct–Apr
Broad-winged HawkButeo platypterusPassage migrantRare34–44 cmRegularly May–Jan
Smallest to largest
Length, cm- Sharp-shinned Hawk 24–34 cm
- Broad-winged Hawk 34–44 cm
- Rough-legged Hawk 46–59 cm
- Red-tailed Hawk 45–65 cm
- Golden Eagle 66–102 cm
- Bald Eagle 70–102 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