Colorado’s raptor list reflects its split personality: shortgrass prairie and farmland across the eastern plains, foothills and alpine peaks along the Front Range, and high desert canyon country to the west. This guide covers the species you’re most likely to actually find, with the field marks that separate confusingly similar ones.

Red-tailed Hawk

Scientific name: Buteo jamaicensis

Colorado’s year-round default hawk, found from the eastern plains to the foothills. Adults run 45 to 65 cm (18 to 26 in) with a wingspan around 1.1 to 1.3 m (3.7 to 4.4 ft), and the brick-red tail is the field mark that works from a moving car. Colorado also hosts darker Western and Harlan’s color morphs that can lack the pale chest entirely, so a harsh, descending scream is a more reliable backup mark than plumage alone.

Swainson’s Hawk and Ferruginous Hawk

Scientific names: Buteo swainsoni and Buteo regalis

Both are open-country specialists of Colorado’s eastern plains, breeding in summer and easy to confuse at a distance. Swainson’s Hawk typically shows a dark bib across the chest cutting off sharply from a pale belly, and undertakes one of the longest migrations of any American raptor, wintering in Argentina.

The Ferruginous Hawk, Colorado’s largest Buteo, is paler overall with rusty-colored shoulders and legs and a pale head, and prefers the driest, most open shortgrass prairie of any Colorado hawk, often nesting on the ground or low rock outcrops where trees are scarce. Unlike Swainson’s, it’s a year-round resident in the southern part of the state, though many withdraw from the harshest winter areas.

Rough-legged Hawk

Scientific name: Buteo lagopus

A winter-only visitor to Colorado’s plains and open valleys, breeding far to the north in the Arctic tundra and arriving as the only Buteo in the state with legs feathered all the way to the toes, an adaptation for cold. Most birds show a dark belly patch and dark wrist markings visible from below, and it often hunts by hovering in place over open ground, a habit shared with few other large Colorado hawks.

Golden Eagle

Scientific name: Aquila chrysaetos

Colorado holds one of the stronger year-round Golden Eagle populations in the country, nesting on cliff ledges throughout the foothills, canyon country, and high plains rather than appearing mainly as a migrant the way it does farther east. At 66 to 102 cm (26 to 40 in), it’s dark brown overall with a golden wash across the back of the head and neck, distinguishing it from the white-headed adult Bald Eagle at any age.

Bald Eagle and Osprey

Scientific names: Haliaeetus leucocephalus and Pandion haliaetus

Bald Eagles concentrate around Colorado’s larger reservoirs, especially in winter when northern birds move south to join a small resident breeding population. Immature birds stay mottled brown for several years and are the state’s most common Golden Eagle misidentification.

Ospreys are a summer breeder at Colorado’s mountain reservoirs, told from a Bald Eagle by smaller size, a dark mask through the eye, and a hunting style built around hovering and diving feet-first into the water.

Prairie Falcon, American Kestrel, and Peregrine Falcon

Scientific names: Falco mexicanus, Falco sparverius, Falco peregrinus

The Prairie Falcon is Colorado’s characteristic dry-country falcon, nesting on cliff ledges throughout the plains and canyon country, paler sandy-brown above than a Peregrine with dark patches under the wing near the body visible as it banks overhead.

The American Kestrel is a year-round statewide resident seen hovering over roadside grass, while the Peregrine Falcon nests on cliffs in the mountains and, increasingly, on bridges and tall buildings in Denver, with a dark hooded head and heavily barred underparts.

Turkey Vulture

Scientific name: Cathartes aura

A common summer breeder statewide, soaring for hours in a shallow, unsteady V with a bare red head and a pale trailing edge across the whole underwing. Most Colorado Turkey Vultures migrate south for winter rather than staying year-round.

When and Where to See Them

Colorado’s Front Range foothills, from Dinosaur Ridge west of Denver north toward Fort Collins, concentrate migrating raptors each fall as the mountains funnel birds moving south along the ridgeline, with Red-tailed Hawks, Golden Eagles, and accipiters among the most commonly reported species. The eastern plains around Pawnee National Grassland are the most reliable spot for Ferruginous Hawks and Swainson’s Hawks in summer, and Rough-legged Hawks become the expected large open-country Buteo across the same plains once winter sets in.

More Colorado Birding Guides

For owls and other after-dark species, see our Colorado owl sounds guide. To sort out a hawk by tail pattern or belly color alone, our guides to hawks with striped tails and hawks with white bellies cover more plumage variations. For backyard species beyond raptors, see our Colorado backyard bird guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the most common bird of prey in Colorado?

The Red-tailed Hawk. It’s a year-round resident statewide and the hawk most often seen perched along highways and open fields.

What hawk has feathered legs in Colorado?

The Rough-legged Hawk, a winter-only visitor from the Arctic, is the only Colorado Buteo with legs feathered all the way to the toes.

How do you tell a Swainson’s Hawk from a Ferruginous Hawk?

A Swainson’s Hawk typically shows a dark chest band cutting off sharply from a pale belly, while a Ferruginous Hawk is paler overall with rusty shoulders and legs and a pale head. Ferruginous Hawks also prefer drier, more open prairie and often nest on the ground.