Hawk identification often begins with a general description of hawks as the group of large birds in the order Falconiforme, which consists of Eagles, Falcons and Hawks. Together with Owls, they also go by the name raptors or birds of prey.
Several Hawk Species also have Light and Dark Morph variants and some in-between variants such as the Red-tailed Hawk
All the birds of prey are meat eaters that dine on other birds, reptiles, small mammals and the like in their territory. The Osprey is the exception. It is a fish eater. Their dietary habits mean hawks tend to occupy a top spot in their ecosystem food chain and therefore get designated as indicator species because population changes often coincides with ecosystem changes.