A hawk is a diurnal bird of prey belonging to the family Accipitridae. Identifying a hawk based only on the description “brown and white” is often challenging because many species, particularly immature birds or certain color phases, exhibit this general pattern. The plumage of young hawks frequently differs from adults, showing heavy brown streaking against a pale background. Therefore, accurately identifying the species requires examining size, shape, and behavior beyond simple color.
Primary Brown and White Hawk Species
The most frequently encountered hawk fitting the brown and white description in North America is the Red-tailed Hawk. Juvenile Red-tailed Hawks, which lack the adult’s characteristic reddish tail, display a pale, whitish underside with distinct brown streaking. This streaking often concentrates across the belly, forming the “belly band,” a key field mark for this species. Light-morph adults also show brown upperparts contrasting with a white chest and belly, though their plumage is highly variable across different regions.
Another common candidate is the Rough-legged Hawk, particularly the light-morph birds. This hawk is named for its legs, which are feathered all the way down to the toes, a feature adapted for its Arctic breeding grounds. The light-morph Rough-legged Hawk is strikingly brown and white, featuring a pale head and a predominantly white underside with a conspicuous dark belly patch. In flight, the white base of its tail with a broad, dark band at the tip is a strong indicator of this species.
A non-hawk raptor often mistaken for a hawk due to its coloration is the Osprey. This large raptor has dark brown upperparts that sharply contrast with a clean white underside and a distinctive white head. A prominent dark brown stripe runs through the eye on the white face, giving it a masked appearance.
Essential Clues Beyond Color
Focusing on the raptor’s physical form and flight style provides much more certainty for identification. Hawks are broadly divided into two groups: Buteos (broad-winged) and Accipiters (long-tailed and short-winged), and their silhouettes differ significantly. Red-tailed and Rough-legged Hawks are Buteos, characterized by a stocky body, broad, rounded wings, and a relatively short tail. An Osprey, by contrast, has a lanky body and long, narrow wings that create a noticeable “M” shape when viewed from below in flight.
Flight behavior also offers a reliable clue to the bird’s identity. Red-tailed Hawks are known for their effortless soaring in wide circles high above open country, often perching on prominent roadside poles. Rough-legged Hawks frequently exhibit a specialized hunting technique where they face into the wind and hover, scanning the ground for small prey. Conversely, the Osprey is almost always associated with water, flying with steady wingbeats or circling before diving feet-first to catch fish.
Examining specific patches of plumage can narrow the identification down immediately. For the Red-tailed Hawk, look for the dark, horizontal band of streaks across the white lower chest or belly. The light-morph Rough-legged Hawk is identifiable by dark, contrasting patches at the “wrists” or carpal joints of its underwings. If the bird has a white head with a dark eye stripe and is near a body of water, the Osprey is the most likely identification.
Geographic Range and Seasonal Factors
The location and time of year a hawk is sighted provides crucial context for identification. The Red-tailed Hawk is the most geographically flexible, being a year-round resident across most of North and Central America. It can be seen in diverse habitats, from deserts and forests to urban areas, making it a possibility regardless of the season.
The Rough-legged Hawk is a bird of the Arctic tundra, and its presence in the lower United States and southern Canada is strictly seasonal. These hawks migrate south for the winter, arriving in their wintering grounds in the late fall and departing by early spring. A sighting of a brown and white hawk in an open field during the winter months strongly suggests this species.
The Osprey’s range is closely tied to its diet of fish, meaning it is almost exclusively found near large bodies of water such as coasts, lakes, and major rivers. While some populations are year-round residents, most North American Ospreys migrate south for the winter. A spring or summer sighting near water makes the Osprey a very strong candidate.