🐍 King cobra vs Red-tailed hawk 🦅
The king cobra is about 6 times as long as the red-tailed hawk.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🐍 King cobra | 🦅 Red-tailed hawk |
|---|---|---|
| Size The king cobra is about 6 times as long as the red-tailed hawk. | 10 to 12 ft3.1 to 3.7 m1 | 19 to 26 in48 to 65 cm2 |
| Top speed Neither has a checked number yet. | no checked number yet | no checked number yet |
| Weight We don't have a checked number for the king cobra yet. | no checked number yet | 1.8 to 2.7 lb800 g to 1.2 kg2 |
| Lives The red-tailed hawk lives a bit longer than the king cobra. | 17 years17 years1 | 22 years22 years2 |
| Eats Both eat meat. | mostly other snakes | mostly small rodents, and sometimes rabbits, reptiles and other birds |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | forests, bamboo thickets and swamps near streams, from northern India to southern China | open country with high perches, such as grassland, farm fields, parks and woodland edges, across North and Central America |
Which one? King cobra or red-tailed hawk
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the king cobra 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.
9 things to know about King cobra vs Red-tailed hawk
- The king cobra: A very long snake that eats mostly other snakes.
- The red-tailed hawk: A common hawk that watches for small animals from high perches.
- They are different kinds of animal. The king cobra is a reptile, so it has scaly skin; the red-tailed hawk is a bird, so it has feathers and lays eggs.
- The king cobra is about 6 times as long as the red-tailed hawk: 1 against 2.
- The red-tailed hawk lives a bit longer than the king cobra. Usual lifespans: 1 for the king cobra and 2 for the red-tailed hawk.
- Both eat meat. The king cobra eats mostly other snakes; the red-tailed hawk eats mostly small rodents, and sometimes rabbits, reptiles and other birds.
- The king cobra lives in forests, bamboo thickets and swamps near streams, from northern India to southern China. 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 king cobra: needs help (Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List). 3
- The red-tailed hawk: doing fine (Least Concern on the IUCN Red List). 4
Wow facts
🐍 King cobra
- A king cobra eats mostly other snakes.
- It is longer than most grown-ups are tall.
- It lives near streams in forests, bamboo and swamps.
🦅 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 King cobra and Red-tailed hawk
Which is bigger, king cobra or red-tailed hawk?
The king cobra is about 6 times as long as the red-tailed hawk: 1 against 2.
Which is heavier, king cobra or red-tailed hawk?
We only have a checked weight for the red-tailed hawk: 2. Scientists are still working out the other.
Which lives longer, king cobra or red-tailed hawk?
The red-tailed hawk lives a bit longer than the king cobra. Usual lifespans: 1 for the king cobra and 2 for the red-tailed hawk.
What do king cobra and red-tailed hawk eat?
Both eat meat. The king cobra eats mostly other snakes; the red-tailed hawk eats mostly small rodents, and sometimes rabbits, reptiles and other birds.
Where do king cobra and red-tailed hawk live?
The king cobra lives in forests, bamboo thickets and swamps near streams, from northern India to southern China. 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 king cobras eat red-tailed hawks?
The king cobra eats mostly other snakes. Red-tailed hawks are not in that list, which comes from its page.
Do red-tailed hawks eat king cobras?
The red-tailed hawk eats mostly small rodents, and sometimes rabbits, reptiles and other birds. King cobras are not in that list, which comes from its page. And the king cobra is about 6 times as long as the red-tailed hawk.
Who would win, king cobra 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/king-cobra-vs-red-tailed-hawk
Where these numbers come from
- University of Michigan Museum of Zoology, Animal Diversity Web: Ophiophagus hannah (king cobra), 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.