Hawks are birds. When you think about the sound a bird makes, you might think of a chirp. That lovely, gentle sound of nature’s music. Not so for the more than 200 different kinds of hawks.
A red-tailed hawk, the most common type in North America, makes a high-pitched screeching sound when guarding its territory. “Kee-eeeeeee-arrr.” (It’s also the sound often used in movies even if the bird making the sound isn’t a red-tailed hawk.) A Cooper’s hawk defends its nest with a piercing “kac-kac-kac.” And a call of “kik-kik-kik” signals that a sharp-shinned hawk is frightened or upset.
