🦅 Golden eagle vs Red-tailed hawk 🦅
The golden eagle is about one and a half times as long as the red-tailed hawk. The golden eagle weighs about 5 times as much as the red-tailed hawk.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🦅 Golden eagle | 🦅 Red-tailed hawk |
|---|---|---|
| Size The golden eagle is about one and a half times as long as the red-tailed hawk. | 28 to 33 in70 to 84 cm1 | 19 to 26 in48 to 65 cm2 |
| Top speed We don't have a checked number for the red-tailed hawk yet. | 80 mph129 km/h1 | no checked number yet |
| Weight The golden eagle weighs about 5 times as much as the red-tailed hawk. | 6.6 to 14 lb3 to 6.1 kg1 | 1.8 to 2.7 lb800 g to 1.2 kg2 |
| Lives The golden eagle usually lives about one and a half times as long as the red-tailed hawk. | 32 years32 years1 | 22 years22 years2 |
| Eats Both eat meat. | rabbits, hares and other small mammals, and some birds and reptiles | mostly small rodents, and sometimes rabbits, reptiles and other birds |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | open country from the seashore to high mountains across Europe, Asia, northern Africa and North America | open country with high perches, such as grassland, farm fields, parks and woodland edges, across North and Central America |
Which one? Golden eagle or red-tailed hawk
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the red-tailed hawk yet, so there is no race.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed. Our face-off books compare real numbers, and nobody gets hurt.
10 things to know about Golden eagle vs Red-tailed hawk
- The golden eagle: A big brown bird of prey with very wide wings.
- The red-tailed hawk: A common hawk that watches for small animals from high perches.
- They are the same kind of animal: both are birds.
- The golden eagle is about one and a half times as long as the red-tailed hawk: 1 against 2.
- The golden eagle weighs about 5 times as much as the red-tailed hawk. That is 1 for the golden eagle and 2 for the red-tailed hawk.
- The golden eagle usually lives about one and a half times as long as the red-tailed hawk. Usual lifespans: 1 for the golden eagle and 2 for the red-tailed hawk.
- Both eat meat. The golden eagle eats rabbits, hares and other small mammals, and some birds and reptiles; the red-tailed hawk eats mostly small rodents, and sometimes rabbits, reptiles and other birds.
- The golden eagle lives in open country from the seashore to high mountains across Europe, Asia, northern Africa and North America. The red-tailed hawk lives in open country with high perches, such as grassland, farm fields, parks and woodland edges, across North and Central America. They can live in the same kind of place.
- The golden eagle: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 3
- The red-tailed hawk: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 4
Wow facts
🦅 Golden eagle
- A golden eagle can soar over open country with very wide wings.
- It lives from the seashore to high mountains.
- It eats mostly rabbits, hares and other small mammals.
🦅 Red-tailed hawk
- A red-tailed hawk watches for food from a high perch.
- Most of its food is small rodents.
- It lives in parks and farm fields as well as grassland.
Questions kids ask about Golden eagle and Red-tailed hawk
Which is bigger, golden eagle or red-tailed hawk?
The golden eagle is about one and a half times as long as the red-tailed hawk: 1 against 2.
Which is heavier, golden eagle or red-tailed hawk?
The golden eagle weighs about 5 times as much as the red-tailed hawk. That is 1 for the golden eagle and 2 for the red-tailed hawk.
Which lives longer, golden eagle or red-tailed hawk?
The golden eagle usually lives about one and a half times as long as the red-tailed hawk. Usual lifespans: 1 for the golden eagle and 2 for the red-tailed hawk.
What do golden eagle and red-tailed hawk eat?
Both eat meat. The golden eagle eats rabbits, hares and other small mammals, and some birds and reptiles; the red-tailed hawk eats mostly small rodents, and sometimes rabbits, reptiles and other birds.
Where do golden eagle and red-tailed hawk live?
The golden eagle lives in open country from the seashore to high mountains across Europe, Asia, northern Africa and North America. The red-tailed hawk lives in open country with high perches, such as grassland, farm fields, parks and woodland edges, across North and Central America. They can live in the same kind of place.
Do golden eagles eat red-tailed hawks?
The golden eagle eats rabbits, hares and other small mammals, and some birds and reptiles. Red-tailed hawks are not in that list, which comes from its page.
Do red-tailed hawks eat golden eagles?
The red-tailed hawk eats mostly small rodents, and sometimes rabbits, reptiles and other birds. Golden eagles are not in that list, which comes from its page. And the golden eagle is about one and a half times as long as the red-tailed hawk.
Who would win, golden eagle or red-tailed hawk?
We never show fights, because a fight is not a fair way to compare animals. They can share the same kind of place, and real animals mostly keep out of each other's way. What we can compare is how big, how heavy, how fast, how long they live and what they eat, as above.
📤 Share this pair
The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/golden-eagle-vs-red-tailed-hawk
Where these numbers come from
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Aquila chrysaetos (golden eagle), checked 10 November 2026.
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Buteo jamaicensis (red-tailed hawk), checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.