🦉 Great horned owl vs Red-tailed hawk 🦅
The great horned owl and the red-tailed hawk are about the same size. The great horned owl is a bit heavier than the red-tailed hawk.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🦉 Great horned owl | 🦅 Red-tailed hawk |
|---|---|---|
| Size They are about the same size. | 18 to 25 in46 to 63 cm1 | 19 to 26 in48 to 65 cm2 |
| Top speed Neither has a checked number yet. | no checked number yet | no checked number yet |
| Weight The great horned owl is a bit heavier than the red-tailed hawk. | 2.2 to 3.8 lb998 g to 1.7 kg3 | 1.8 to 2.7 lb800 g to 1.2 kg2 |
| Lives The red-tailed hawk usually lives about one and a half times as long as the great horned owl. | 13 to 15 years13 to 15 years3 | 22 years22 years2 |
| Eats Both eat meat. | mice, rabbits, birds and even skunks | mostly small rodents, and sometimes rabbits, reptiles and other birds |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | forests, deserts and towns across North America and into South America | open country with high perches, such as grassland, farm fields, parks and woodland edges, across North and Central America |
Which one? Great horned owl or red-tailed hawk
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the great horned owl or 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 Great horned owl vs Red-tailed hawk
- The great horned owl: Its "horns" are just feathers, and it can turn its head far around.
- 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 great horned owl and the red-tailed hawk are about the same size: 2 against 1.
- The great horned owl is a bit heavier than the red-tailed hawk. That is 3 for the great horned owl and 2 for the red-tailed hawk.
- The red-tailed hawk usually lives about one and a half times as long as the great horned owl. Usual lifespans: 3 for the great horned owl and 2 for the red-tailed hawk.
- Both eat meat. The great horned owl eats mice, rabbits, birds and even skunks; the red-tailed hawk eats mostly small rodents, and sometimes rabbits, reptiles and other birds.
- The great horned owl lives in forests, deserts and towns across North America and into South 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 great horned owl: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 4
- The red-tailed hawk: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 5
Wow facts
🦉 Great horned owl
- Its wings make almost no sound.
- It coughs up a pellet of fur and bones after a meal.
- It often nests in an old nest that a hawk or crow built.
🦅 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 Great horned owl and Red-tailed hawk
Which is bigger, great horned owl or red-tailed hawk?
The great horned owl and the red-tailed hawk are about the same size: 2 against 1.
Which is heavier, great horned owl or red-tailed hawk?
The great horned owl is a bit heavier than the red-tailed hawk. That is 3 for the great horned owl and 2 for the red-tailed hawk.
Which lives longer, great horned owl or red-tailed hawk?
The red-tailed hawk usually lives about one and a half times as long as the great horned owl. Usual lifespans: 3 for the great horned owl and 2 for the red-tailed hawk.
What do great horned owl and red-tailed hawk eat?
Both eat meat. The great horned owl eats mice, rabbits, birds and even skunks; the red-tailed hawk eats mostly small rodents, and sometimes rabbits, reptiles and other birds.
Where do great horned owl and red-tailed hawk live?
The great horned owl lives in forests, deserts and towns across North America and into South 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 great horned owls eat red-tailed hawks?
The great horned owl eats mice, rabbits, birds and even skunks. Red-tailed hawks are not in that list, which comes from its page.
Do red-tailed hawks eat great horned owls?
The red-tailed hawk eats mostly small rodents, and sometimes rabbits, reptiles and other birds. Great horned owls are not in that list, which comes from its page.
Who would win, great horned owl 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/great-horned-owl-vs-red-tailed-hawk
Where these numbers come from
- National Park Service, Bryce Canyon, checked 30 October 2026.
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Buteo jamaicensis (red-tailed hawk), checked 10 November 2026.
- National Park Service, Golden Spike, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 10 November 2026.