Hawks in Flight: The Flight Identification of North American Migrant Raptors

by Pete Dunne, David Allen Sibley, Clay Sutton

This guide shows how to recognize hawks the way we recognize friends at a distance: by body shape, movements, and locale.

Genres: Birds, Nature, Field Guides, Nonfiction, Science, Reference, Animals

272 pages, Paperback

First published March 22, 1988

Reviews

[Robert Beatty · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are a true raptor lover, and a true birder, who wants to connect to nature in a whole new way and be able to identify hawks at a distance, then you will find this to be an incredible book. I've shared a hawk tower and gone on outings with these three authors. They are the masters in their field. Highly recommended.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

The very best book I have found for identifying raptors,since we rarely see them sitting in a tree with the sunlight in a good spot, this tells you what to look for when you see them overhead. Excellent photos

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book with out of focus photos that really help you learn to identify raptors. Those perfectly drawn pictures in most bird ID books are useless. This book describes flight behavior--the tilting, wobbly flight of turkey vultures, the flap, flap, flap glide pattern of accipiters. After reading this book, your ability to recognize raptors will soar!

[Daisy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a good guide! It is full of great information and the writing style is engaging - you can read this through cover to cover. I like it so much I just bought the second edition, which includes full color photographs (the first edition is all black and white).

[Scott Cox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very helpful guide for identification of North American raptors in the way they are usually seen, in flight! The descriptions are very detailed, and the drawings further emphasize the key identification details.

[Chris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fabulously informative, but the real win here is the casual, often narrative prose which strikes a perfect tone. The photographs in this second edition are among the most helpful I have seen. A brilliant friend for raptor nerds.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good introductory guide to identifying raptors.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hawks are inscrutable.

[Mark Nenadov · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read it in December 2016 and again now in December 2017. What a fantastic resource! I love the fresh approach and the detailed comparisons. This is a must have for all birders.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a highly readable (and occasionally funny) guide. The approach is very helpful: considering how we actually *see* raptors instead of what's necessarily there (we see them backlit, in fuzzy photos, etc, and we notice how they fly). The illustrations are very helpful.

I do wish the book included a few color photos/paintings or even higher quality photos. While the images here represent what you'd see, it's not always true that we can't pick up color on the birds or get good photos, and it would be nice if each bird had one representative image with it, ideally in color. Admittedly, there are other books that do just that (like Hawks from Every Angle) and would work as a good complementary pairing with this one.

[Isaac Saba · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book first sets you up to think hawk identification is really difficult, and then it tells you everything you need to know about it, so that's pretty awesome.

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was mostly a narrative of what could have been more efficiently presented as a punchlist. B/W photos were described as adequate because of a lack of color in real observations, but the low resolution was disappointing.

[Pipi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has really helped me learn to identify raptors. It's a dense reference book. I usually think of books as sacred and never write in them, but in this case I've been underlining the best advice on field markers. Hard to get through but completely worth it.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent both as a book to study when you’re not in the field, and as a guide to take along bird watching. It has the additional bonus of being well written, with some lines that made me laugh out loud.

[Mark Nenadov · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent guide for identification!

[David Ward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hawks in Flight: The Flight Identification of North American Flying Raptors by Pete Dunne, David Sibley, and Clay Sutton (Houghton Mifflin Co.) (598.91) (3965).

I’m an animal-loving reader, a backyard birder, and a complete amateur at identifying raptor species on the wing. My raptor watching history has been limited to enjoying a pair of red-tailed hawks that have nested and fledged babies from atop a sixty year old pine tree in my backyard for the past three of four years and to admiring the bald eagles that nest nearby on the Tennessee River and lakes. I chose this volume to try to help me learn to differentiate between the various raptor species afield.

The author organized the book by these groupings: buteos, accipiters, falcons, kites, harriers, vultures and eagles, and ospreys.

This very readable field guide was a great introduction into the visible differences between these bird classifications groups. The book highlights the visual differences between these groups in such fashion that even a tyro (like me) can understand. Now if I can just find a way to sharpen the focus of my 65 year old eyes, I’ll be all set to tackle hawk and eagle identification at a distance.

I picked up a used PB copy of this in good condition on 6/5/24 from my favorite local used book store (McKay’s) for $1.50.

My rating: 7/10, finished 7/8/24 (3965).

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[False · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had been speaking with a nature about birds, in particular raptors, and he has developed a new found passion for them. After the conversation, I checked a lot of books out of the library system, including this one, not knowing it was written by men in an area where said neighbor will be moving to and has already engaged in birding in that area.

This is a serious nature-science book about the raptors in North America with a lot of diagrams and photograph to assist with aerial viewing. Highly recommended for those avid about these birds.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great reference book for both raptor lovers and those who aspire to be. The illustrations are detailed and the colour photos are plentiful and taken from every possible angle. The text itself is very detailed, yet everything is presented in a very easy-to-read way so that people new to hawk identification will not be overwhelmed.

This is a definite must-have book for anyone who wants to be more confident in identifying the various raptors of North America.

[Mike Augustine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book for anyone who is a fan of raptors. Lots of good info on all of the North American species with a focus on in-flight discrimination and identification. The book would easily rate a 5 if the format were altered. The text font is too small and the photos and drawings would benefit if enlarged.

[Nancy Frick · Rating 3 out of 5]

very detailed

I would have given this more stars but it was too technical for me. I guess I was thinking it would be more readable. But it has a plethora of information about birds.

[Jodi Tooke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Descriptions of behavior with drawings and black and white photos really help discriminate among various hawks. Anecdotes and interesting facts made fascinating reading.

[Suzanned99 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very, very helpful for identifying hawks. Highly recommend.

[Doug McCoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seven word review = IDing hawks, a walk in the park!

[Brian Jarsma · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still not great at hawk ID but this helps

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great resource for learning to identify raptors as they are actually seen in the wild.

[Clifdisc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Time to get ready for Hawk Watch season!