BIRD OF PREY

BIRD OF PREY

Bird of prey, any bird that pursues other animals for food. Birds of prey are classified in two orders: "Falconiformes" and "Stringiformes".

Diurnal birds of prey—hawks, eagles, vultures, and falcons (Falconiformes)—are also called raptors, derived from the Latin raptare, “to seize and carry off.” (In a broader sense, the name raptor is sometimes synonymous with the designation “bird of prey.”) The nocturnal birds of prey are the owls (Strigiformes). The condors (species of vultures) and the eagles are among the largest and strongest of birds. All birds of prey have hook-tipped beaks and sharp curved claws called talons (in nonpredatory vultures the talons are present but atrophied). In spite of the similarities between the two groups, many authorities believe that they are not closely related, but rather that they developed similar methods of living a predatory life.

Although the term bird of prey could theoretically be taken to include all birds that primarily consume animals, ornithologists  typically use the narrower definition followed in this page. Examples of animal-eating birds not encompassed by the ornithological definition include storks, herons, gulls, skuas, penguins, kookaburras, and shrikes, as well as the many songbirds that are primarily insectivorous.


The diurnal birds of prey are formally classified into five families of two orders.

1. Accipitridae: hawks, eagles, buzzards, harriers, kites, and Old World vultures

2. Pandionidae: the osprey

3. Sagittariidae: the secretarybird

4. Falconidae: falcons, caracaras, and forest falcons

5. Cathartidae: New World vultures

* EAGLE

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

* KITE

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.

* HAWK

The true hawks are medium-sized birds of prey that usually belong to the genus Accipiter (see below). They are mainly woodland birds that hunt by sudden dashes from a concealed perch. They usually have long tails for tight steering.

* BUZZARD

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).

* HARRIER

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.

* VULTURE

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.


* FALCON

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

* CARACARA

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.

* OWL

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.