Species Profiles

Falconry birds fall into three broad categories based on their hunting style and wing shape. Understanding these groups helps you choose the right bird for your experience level, available hunting terrain, and the game you want to pursue. Each species brings unique strengths to the field, and matching the right bird to your situation is one of the most important decisions in falconry.

Species selection is one of the most consequential decisions in a falconer's career, and it is governed by a combination of regulation, experience, geography, and personal ambition. Federal law restricts apprentice falconers to two species: the Red-tailed Hawk and the American Kestrel. This limitation is not arbitrary. Both species are abundant across North America, ensuring that trapping pressure from falconers has no meaningful impact on wild populations. More importantly, both species offer distinct learning experiences that prepare apprentices for the broader species choices available at the General license level. The restriction forces new falconers to master fundamentals with a forgiving bird before taking on the challenges of more demanding species.

The debate between starting with a Red-tailed Hawk versus an American Kestrel is one of the most discussed topics among new falconers, and the consensus among experienced practitioners overwhelmingly favors the Red-tail. The reason is simple: margin for error. A Red-tailed Hawk weighing around nine hundred grams has a flying weight window of roughly twenty to thirty grams, meaning small mistakes in feeding or weight management are unlikely to cause serious harm. An American Kestrel weighing one hundred and twenty grams might have a useful weight window of just five to eight grams, where a single miscalculation can leave the bird too weak to fly or too fat to respond. For a beginner still learning to read behavioral cues and calibrate feeding amounts, the Red-tail's forgiveness is invaluable.

Beyond the apprentice species, the world of falconry birds opens dramatically at the General license level. Many falconers transition to Harris's Hawks, the only naturally social raptor, prized for their cooperative hunting behavior and unusually strong bonds with their handlers. Others pursue accipiters like the Cooper's Hawk or Goshawk, explosive short-range hunters that demand quick reflexes and experienced handling. Still others enter the world of longwing falconry with Peregrine Falcons or Gyrfalcons, flying birds at altitude in spectacular stoops that represent the classical ideal of the sport. Each species group requires different terrain, different quarry, and different handling skills, so the choice depends heavily on where you live and what kind of hunting is available to you.

Climate and geography play a larger role in species selection than many beginners realize. A falconer in the open grasslands of Kansas has access to ideal terrain for longwing falconry, while someone hunting the dense hardwood forests of Appalachia would find a Goshawk or Cooper's Hawk far better suited to the cover. Desert falconers in the American Southwest often favor Harris's Hawks, which thrive in arid landscapes and hunt cooperatively in ways that mirror their wild behavior in the Sonoran Desert. Red-tailed Hawks are the great generalists, performing well in almost any habitat, which is another reason they dominate beginner falconry. As you progress through the license classes, your species choices should increasingly reflect the specific landscape and quarry available in your hunting territory rather than abstract preferences based on appearance or reputation.

Your first falconry bird should be a species that teaches you the fundamentals while being forgiving of the inevitable mistakes every beginner makes. For the vast majority of aspiring falconers in North America, this means a passage (first-year, wild-caught) Red-tailed Hawk.

Red-tails are hardy, expressive, and capable hunters. They tolerate a wider range of weight management errors than smaller, more sensitive species. Their body language is relatively easy to read, making it easier to learn when your bird is ready to hunt versus when it needs more time. And their abundance means trapping pressure has no conservation impact.

While American Kestrels are also legal for apprentices, their tiny size and fast metabolism leave almost no margin for error in weight management. A mistake that a Red-tail shrugs off could be fatal to a Kestrel. Most experienced falconers recommend saving Kestrels for your second or third bird, once you have mastered the basics.

After completing your two-year apprenticeship and earning a General license, a much wider range of species becomes available. Many falconers transition to Harris’s Hawks for their social nature, Cooper’s Hawks for the challenge, or begin working with longwings like Peregrines. The species you ultimately fly will depend on your terrain, target quarry, and personal preference.