While doing some research, I found myself in need of a list of all the raptors you can see in the United States. What felt like an easy-to-Google question turned out to be quite hard to find, or was formatted in a way that made it impossible to get an answer at a glance. So we’re taking it into our own two hands to create a resource that is hopefully useful to you, too!
Below is a list of all the raptor species that regularly occur in the United States, ordered alphabetically by group. This list is not inclusive of all raptor species found on the North American continent, but rather just the 50 states. Also listed are vagrant raptor species to the 50 states with at least one sighting in the U.S., along with the states where those birds were spotted. U.S. territories are not included. List last updated May 7th, 2026.
Eagles
| Common Name | Latin Name |
| Bald Eagle | Haliaeetus leucocephalus |
| Golden Eagle | Aquila chrysaetos |
Hawks
| Common Name | Latin Name |
| American Goshawk | Astur atricapillus |
| Broad-winged Hawk | Buteo platypterus |
| Common Black Hawk | Buteogallus anthracinus |
| Cooper’s Hawk | Astur cooperii |
| Ferruginous Hawk | Buteo regalis |
| Gray Hawk | Buteo plagiatus |
| Harris’s Hawk | Parabuteo unicinctus |
| Hawaiian Hawk | Buteo solitarius |
| Red-shouldered Hawk | Buteo lineatus |
| Red-tailed Hawk | Buteo jamaicensis |
| Rough-legged Hawk | Buteo lagopus |
| Sharp-shinned Hawk | Accipiter striatus |
| Short-tailed Hawk | Buteo brachyurus |
| Swainson’s Hawk | Buteo swainsoni |
| White-tailed Hawk | Elanus leucurus |
| Zone-tailed Hawk | Buteo albonotatus |
Falcons
| Common Name | Latin Name |
| American Kestrel | Falco sparverius |
| Aplomado Falcon | Falco femoralis |
| Crested Caracara | Caracara plancus |
| Gyrfalcon | Falco rusticolus |
| Merlin | Falco columbarius |
| Peregrine Falcon | Falco peregrinus |
| Prairie Falcon | Falco mexicanus |
Kites
| Common Name | Latin Name |
| Hook-billed Kite | Chondrohierax uncinatus |
| Mississippi Kite | Ictinia mississippiensis |
| Snail Kite | Rostrhamus sociabilis |
| Swallow-tailed Kite | Elanoides forficatus |
| White-tailed Kite | Elanus leucurus |
Owls
| Common Name | Latin Name |
| American Barn Owl | Tyto furcata |
| Barred Owl | Strix varia |
| Boreal Owl | Aegolius funereus |
| Burrowing Owl | Athene cunicularia |
| Eastern Screech-Owl | Megascops asio |
| Elf Owl | Micrathene whitneyi |
| Ferruginous Pygmy-Owl | Glaucidium brasilianum |
| Flammulated Owl | Psiloscops flammeolus |
| Great Gray Owl | Strix nebulosa |
| Great Horned Owl | Bubo virginianus |
| Long-eared Owl | Asio otus |
| Northern Hawk Owl | Surnia ulula |
| Northern Pygmy-Owl | Glaucidium gnoma |
| Northern Saw-whet Owl | Aegolius acadicus |
| Short-eared Owl | Asio flammeus |
| Snowy Owl | Bubo scandiacus |
| Spotted Owl | Strix occidentalis |
| Western Screech-Owl | Megascops kennicottii |
| Whiskered Screech-Owl | Megascops trichopsis |
Vultures
| Common Name | Latin Name |
| Black Vulture | Coragyps atratus |
| California Condor | Gymnogyps californianus |
| Turkey Vulture | Cathartus aura |
Others
| Common Name | Latin Name |
| Northern Harrier | Circus hudsonius |
| Osprey | Pandion haliaetus |
Vagrants
| Common Name | Latin Name | States Reported |
| Collared Forest-Falcon | Micrastur semitorquatus | Texas |
| Crane Hawk | Geranospiza caerulescens | Texas |
| Double-toothed Kite | Harpagus bidentatus | Florida, Texas |
| Eurasian Hobby | Falco subbuteo | Alaska, Massachusetts, Washington |
| Eurasian Sparrowhawk | Accipiter nisus | Alaska |
| Great Black Hawk | Buteogallus urubitinga | Florida, Maine, Texas |
| Mottled Owl | Ciccaba virgata | Texas |
| Northern Boobook | Ninox japonica | Alaska |
| Long-legged Buzzard | Buteo rufinus | Alaska |
| Oriental Scops-Owl | Otus sunia | Alaska |
| Red-footed Falcon | Falco vespertinus | Massachusetts |
| Roadside Hawk | Rupornis magnirostris | Texas |
| Steller’s Sea Eagle | Haliaeetus pelagicus | Alaska, Maine, Massachusetts, Texas |
| Stygian Owl | Asio stygius | Florida, Texas |
| Western Marsh Harrier | Circus aeruginosus | Maine, New Jersey, Virginia |
| White-tailed Eagle | Haliaeetus albicilla | Alaska, California |
This blog was written by Sammy Riccio, HWI’s Communications Manager. You can learn more about Sammy here.
