The bird may eat on the ground or carry its kill to a feeding spot, often a fencepost or tree limb, where it plucks its prey and tears the meat apart with its beak. Unlike an owl, a hawk does not swallow its food whole or in large chunks. Hours after eating, a hawk will regurgitate a pellet, containing any feathers, fur or small bones swallowed accidentally. Identifying hawks can be difficult. While males and females of the same species are generally of similar colors, individual variation often occurs within the species.
Juveniles are especially hard to identify.
Many hawks mate for life. They nest high above the ground on sturdy limbs, in the crotches of trees or on rock ledges. A mated pair will either remodel an old nest or build a new one, occasionally starting on top of a squirrel or crow nest. The female may begin incubation before the last egg is laid, resulting in young of different sizes in the same brood. The female does most of the incubating and is supplied with food by the male.