Raptors

Birds of Prey

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A bird of prey, predatory bird, or raptor is any of several species of bird that hunts and feeds on rodents and other small animals. The term raptor is derived from Latin, meaning to seize or take by force. Birds of prey have keen vision that allows them to detect their prey during flight, as well as powerful talons and beaks.

The common names for various birds of prey are based on structure, but many of the traditional names do not reflect the evolutionary relationships between the groups.

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Eagles tend to be large birds with long, broad wings and massive feet. Booted eagles have legs and feet feathered to the toes and build very large stick nests.

Hawks are medium-sized birds of prey that are mainly woodland birds that hunt by sudden dashes from a concealed perch. They usually have long tails for tight steering.

Ospreys, a single species found worldwide that specializes in catching fish and builds large stick nests.

Kites have long wings and relatively weak legs. They spend much of their time soaring. They will take live vertebrate prey, but mostly feed on insects or even carrion.

Buzzards are medium-large raptors with robust bodies and broad wings, or, alternatively, any bird of the genus Buteo (also commonly known as "hawks" in North America, while "buzzard" is colloquially used for vultures).

Harriers are large, slender hawk-like birds with long tails and long thin legs. Most use a combination of keen eyesight and hearing to hunt small vertebrates, gliding on their long broad wings and circling low over grasslands and marshes.

Vultures are carrion-eating raptors of two distinct biological families: the Accipitridae, which occurs only in the Eastern Hemisphere; and the Cathartidae, which occurs only in the Western Hemisphere. Members of both groups have heads either partly or fully devoid of feathers.

Falcons are medium-size birds of prey with long pointy wings. They belong to the Falconidaefamily, rather than the Accipitridae (accipiters). Many are particularly swift flyers.

Caracaras are a distinct subgroup of the Falconidae unique to the New World, and most common in the Neotropics – their broad wings, naked faces and appetites of a generalist suggest some level of convergence with either the Buteos or the vulturine birds, or both.

Owls are variable-sized, typically night-specialized hunting birds. They fly almost silently due to their special feather structure that reduces turbulence. They have particularly acute hearing.