Hawks in Georgia

Is a goshawk the same as a hawk? What is a Buteo? How many hawks are there in Georgia? Well, in this article we try to answer those tricky questions about the Accipitridae family that you have always wondered about. The State of Georgia ThePeach Stateof Georgia is so named for the quality of fruit it produces and that gives an indication of its geography. Georgia only has around 100 miles of coastline but within that are numerous barrier islands and estuaries and the biggest swamp in the United States: the Okefenokee Swamp. The Blue Ridge Mountains are in the north-east and the Appalachian Plateau in the north-west. All of these environments enable a myriad of wildlife species to thrive in Georgia. Georgia is relatively low on the eBird rankings of bird species in the States at 32. A respectable 438 species have been seen here and 10 states are within 10 species of that number. What are Hawks? Right, this is tricky. Trying to understand how families of birds work drives me mad. The layers and crossovers are hard to get to grips with. But let’s try. Accipitriformesare the family of birds that includes most birds of prey. Accipitridaeis the subfamily of Accipitriformes that is known asHawks, Eagles and Kites. Accipitrinaeis the subfamily of Accipitridae that includestrue hawks. There are 5 orders within the Accipitrinae:Accipiter,Microspizias, Erythrotriorchis, MegatriorchisandCircus. Hawks in Georgia There are 4 members of the Accipitrinae subfamily that are listed on eBird as having been sighted in Georgia. However, for our purposes, we will also include members of theButeofamily. The Buteo hawks are not in the true hawks group but as they are largely considered hawks (and called hawks) we include them on a technicality. Red-shouldered Hawk (Buteo lineatus) Identification and Size Distinctive rufous coloring defines this hawk.

Is a goshawk the same as a hawk?