Migrant type: Resident to short distance migrant

This species can be found in Montana year-round. In some regions, younger birds are pushed from northern breeding grounds and older birds remain behind. Some populations will do short migrations in the winter to lower elevations. Larger group migrations will typically be done once every ten years when the populations of some of their main food sources up north (snowshoe hare and grouse) drop. This bird if found across northern America and also Eurasia.

The Goshawk is an extremely powerful and agile bird that will watch for prey from a high perch and attack with quick and stealthy flights. They can do this even through dense trees or planted underlying layer of vegetation in a forest. This is largely due to their body shape, which is quite different from buteo hawks. These birds are called accipiter hawks and have rounded wings and a long rudder-like tail that helps them navigate quickly through forests and highly wooded areas.

They are typically hard to find and often live in large tracts of forest. They can occasionally be seen hunting birds near bird feeders if there is not a high population of people nearby. Most often, juveniles are found in Montana and are more likely to live near people than the adults are.