UK Birds of Prey Identification: 15 Raptors and 5 Owls
Fifteen birds of prey and five owls are regular in the UK. Most can be named from shape and flight style before you see any colour.
Updated 6 October 2026
The 15 regular UK birds of prey
Lengths and wingspans are typical figures. Females are larger than males, sharply so in the hawks.
| Species | Length, wingspan | Shape in flight | Clinching feature | Where and when |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buzzard | 54cm, 1.2m | Broad rounded wings, short fanned tail. Soars with wings in a shallow V. | Pale band across a brown breast. Mewing "pee-yow" call. | Farmland and woods across the UK. All year. About 63,000 pairs. |
| Red Kite | 58 to 64cm, 1.8m | Long angled wings, long tail twisted like a rudder. | Deeply forked rusty tail. White patch under each wing tip. | Chilterns, mid Wales, Yorkshire, Galloway and spreading. All year. |
| Kestrel | 33 to 39cm, 76cm | Pointed wings, long tail. | Hovers on the spot with its head still. | Road verges, rough grass and coastal slopes. All year. |
| Sparrowhawk | 33cm, 62cm | Short blunt wings, long square-ended tail. Flap, flap, glide. | Barred underparts and a yellow eye. Never hovers. | Gardens, hedges and woodland edge everywhere. All year. |
| Peregrine | 40 to 54cm, 1.2m | Anchor shape: broad-based pointed wings, short tail, heavy chest. | Black hood and moustache. Stoops on prey from height. | Sea cliffs, quarries, cities, winter estuaries. All year. |
| Hobby | 33 to 38cm, 87cm | Long scythe wings, like a large swift. | Rusty red "trousers". Catches dragonflies in flight. | Wetlands and heaths, mainly England and Wales. Late April to September. |
| Merlin | 26 to 31cm, 56cm | Compact, short pointed wings. Low and fast. | Our smallest bird of prey. Chases pipits low over the ground. | Upland moors in summer. Coastal marshes and farmland in winter. |
| Goshawk | Male 49 to 56cm, 90 to 105cm. Female 58 to 64cm, 108 to 120cm | Deep chest, broad "hips", longer wings and a rounded tail tip. | A Buzzard-sized hawk with slow, heavy wingbeats. | Large forests. Public raptor viewpoints, February to April. |
| Marsh Harrier | 48 to 55cm, 1.2m | Long wings held in a V, low over reeds. | Female dark brown with a cream crown. Male brown, grey and black. | Reedbeds, mainly eastern England and Somerset. All year. |
| Hen Harrier | 48 to 55cm, 1.1m | Slimmer than Marsh Harrier, same low V-winged glide. | Male pale grey with black wing tips. Brown "ringtail" female has a white rump. | Moorland in summer. Coastal marshes and rough grass, October to March. |
| Osprey | 56cm, 1.6m | Long narrow wings kinked at the wrist, like a big gull. | White below with a dark eye mask. Plunges feet first for fish. | Scotland, Rutland, Wales and Cumbria. Late March to September. |
| Golden Eagle | 76 to 90cm, 2.2m | Long wings pinched in at the body, longish tail. Soars in a shallow V. | Nearly twice a Buzzard's span. Young birds show white in wings and tail. | Scottish Highlands and islands, a few in southern Scotland. All year. |
| White-tailed Eagle | 80 to 90cm, 2.2m | Huge rectangular wings, short wedge tail, big head. The "flying barn door". | Adult has a white tail, pale head and heavy yellow bill. | Western Scotland, and reintroduced birds from the Isle of Wight. All year. |
| Honey Buzzard | 56cm, 1.42m | Small pigeon-like head held forward, long tail, wings held flat. | Tail has two dark bars near the base and one at the tip. | Scarce summer visitor, mid May to August. Public raptor viewpoints only. |
| Montagu's Harrier | 43 to 47cm, 97 to 115cm | Slimmest harrier. Narrow pointed wings, buoyant flight like a tern. | Male has a black bar across the grey upperwing. | Now barely breeds here. A rare passage bird in southern and eastern England, May to August. |
Montagu's Harrier: the UK averaged 8 pairs in 2013 to 2017. By 2019 only two pairs were present and one nested successfully.
Identify a bird of prey by shape in flight
- Broad wings, circling high: Buzzard is the default. Twice the size with long wings: an eagle.
- Forked tail: Red Kite. Nothing else regular has one.
- Pointed wings: a falcon. Hovering means Kestrel. Swift-shaped in summer means Hobby. Heavy and broad-shouldered means Peregrine. Tiny and low means Merlin.
- Short rounded wings and a long tail: a hawk. Sparrowhawk in most places, Goshawk only over big forests.
- Low and slow with wings raised in a V: a harrier. Over reeds, Marsh. Over moor or saltmarsh in winter, Hen.
- Gull-like with kinked wings over water: Osprey.
The pairs people mix up
Buzzard or Red Kite
Look at the tail. Buzzard's is short, rounded and fanned. The kite's is long, forked and never still. Full comparison: Buzzard vs Red Kite.
Sparrowhawk or Kestrel
Behaviour settles it. A Kestrel hovers over grass and sits on wires. A Sparrowhawk hunts by surprise, low along a hedge or through a garden, and never hovers. Full comparison: Sparrowhawk vs Kestrel.
Sparrowhawk or Goshawk
Most claimed Goshawks are female Sparrowhawks. A real Goshawk is Buzzard-sized, with a deep chest and slow wingbeats. If unsure, it is a Sparrowhawk. Goshawk is a Schedule 1 species, so stick to public viewpoints such as New Fancy View in the Forest of Dean or the Wykeham Forest raptor viewpoint in North Yorkshire.
Marsh Harrier or Hen Harrier
Marsh is bulkier and broader winged, and females have a cream head with no white rump. A ringtail Hen Harrier shows a clear white band above a barred tail. In England the Forest of Bowland and RSPB Geltsdale in the North Pennines are the breeding strongholds, and both have had record years recently.
Peregrine or Hobby
Peregrine is heavy and broad across the shoulders, with a barred belly. Hobby is slim, with narrower wings and bold streaks below. A falcon in winter is not a Hobby: they are in Africa.
UK owls
- Tawny Owl (37 to 39cm, wingspan 99cm): the common woodland and park owl. The male hoots and the female answers "kewick". Heard far more than seen.
- Barn Owl (33 to 39cm, 89cm): white below, golden above, with a heart-shaped face. Quarters rough grassland at dusk, and by day in late winter.
- Little Owl (21 to 23cm, 56cm): thrush-sized, with a frowning face. Sits on posts and barn roofs by day. Introduced in the 19th century and now declining.
- Short-eared Owl (34 to 42cm, 1m): hunts in daylight over moorland and coastal marsh. Yellow eyes, long wings with dark wrists. More arrive from October.
- Long-eared Owl (35 to 37cm, 95cm): orange eyes and long ear tufts. Nocturnal and thinly spread. Roosts are easily disturbed, so we do not list them.
Are owls raptors?
Yes, in the everyday sense. Owls are birds of prey: they kill with their talons and tear food with a hooked bill. They are not close relatives of hawks or falcons, though, and sit in their own order, Strigiformes. Many birders use "raptor" only for the day-flying species and say "raptors and owls" for the full set.
Where to watch birds of prey
- Osprey: Rutland Water and RSPB Loch Garten, April to August.
- Marsh Harrier and Hobby: RSPB Minsmere, Titchwell Marsh, Leighton Moss and Ham Wall.
- Hen Harrier and Merlin in winter: WWT Caerlaverock and other large saltmarshes.
- Peregrine: RSPB South Stack and Bempton Cliffs.
- Eagles and kites: the Scotland and Wales guides.
Raptors are distant birds. See our binoculars guide, and take a spotting scope to viewpoints. A field guide with flight plates helps more than photos.
UK birds of prey: common questions
What is the most common bird of prey in the UK?
The Buzzard, with about 63,000 pairs. It overtook the Kestrel as numbers recovered from persecution and pesticides, and it now breeds across almost all of the UK.
Are owls raptors?
Yes, in the everyday sense: owls are birds of prey with talons and hooked bills. They belong to a separate order, Strigiformes, and are not close relatives of hawks or falcons, so some birders keep "raptor" for the day-flying species.
What hawks live in the UK?
Two true hawks: the Sparrowhawk, common in gardens and woods, and the much larger and scarcer Goshawk, which keeps to big forests. Buzzards, kites and harriers are often called hawks but belong to other groups.
Which UK bird of prey hovers?
The Kestrel. It holds position into the wind with its head still while it scans for voles.
Track every UK raptor
All 15 raptors and 5 owls are in the dex. Log what you find in your free Birdedex. Rarer birds score more: 1 point for a garden regular, up to 50 for a legendary find.
Open the Birdedex →