Kite (Milvus milvus), sparrow-hawk or sparhawk (Accipiter nisus), goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), kestrel (Falco tinnunculus), hobby (Falco subbuteo), harrier (simplified from 'hen-harrier', Circus cyaneus), buzzard (Accipiter gentilis), buzzard (Accipiter gentilis), buzzard (Accipiter gentil (Buteo buteo). As English-speaking people travelled further, new birds with identical characteristics were given common names. Originally, several of these English language community names applied to specific species found in the United Kingdom. They're still the nearest living relatives of the extinction-era 'terror birds.'

Seriemas are wide South American birds with long, stilted legs that share an ecological niche with secretary birds. They are members of the Falconidae tribe, which is only distantly related to the Accipitriformes.Ĭaracaras are a subfamily of the Falconidae that is peculiar to the New World and most common in the Neotropics their short wings, naked faces, and generalist appetites indicate some degree of fusion with either Buteo or vulturine birds, or both. Both classes have featherless heads, either partially or fully.įalcons are medium-sized, pointed-winged birds of prey. Vultures are carrion-eating raptors that belong to two separate biological families: Old World vultures (Accipitridae), which only exist in the Eastern Hemisphere, and New World vultures (Cathartidae), which only exist in the Western Hemisphere. The secretary bird is a single species with a large body and long, stilted legs that is endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa's open grasslands. They have especially good hearing and night vision. Their special feather arrangement reduces turbulence, allowing them to fly almost unnoticed. Owls are large, night-hunting birds that come in a variety of sizes. The osprey is a single species found all over the world that catches fish and builds big stick nests.

They can eat live vertebrate prey, but their main diet consists of insects and even carrion. Kites have long, slender wings and short legs. Most hunt small vertebrates with a combination of keen vision and hearing, gliding on their long wide wings and circling low over grasslands and marshes. Harriers are hawk-like birds with long tails and thin legs that are wide and slender. For tight steering, they normally have long tails.īuzzards are medium-sized raptors with long wings and sturdy bodies, or any bird of the genus Buteo (also commonly known as 'hawks' in North America, while 'buzzard' is colloquially used for vultures). They are mostly woodland birds that hunt by making quick dashes from a hidden perch. True hawks are medium-sized raptors that normally belong to the Accipiter genus (see below). Booted eagles have feathered toes on their legs and feet and create massive stick nests. The various birds of prey names, in general, are based on structure, but many of the traditional names do not reflect the evolutionary relationships between the groups.Įagles are huge birds with large feet and long, wide wings. Birds of Prey Classification (Scientific) Some extinct predatory birds, such as mousebird relatives (Sandcoleidae), Messelasturidae, and some Enantiornithes, had talons that resembled those of modern birds of prey, suggesting possible related behaviours.īirds of Prey Meaning - A bird that feeds on animal flesh, distinguished by a hooked bill and sharp talons a raptor. Storks, herons, gulls, phorusrhacids, skuas, penguins, kookaburras, and shrikes, as well as many insectivorous songbirds, are examples of birds of prey not covered by the ornithological description. While the word 'bird of prey' could theoretically be applied to any bird that primarily eats animals, ornithologists usually use the more specific meaning presented in this article. Many birds, including fish eagles, vultures, and condors, consume carrion in addition to live prey. Raptor comes from the Latin word rapio, which means to capture or take by force. They also have keen eyesight for detecting food from distance or while flying, powerful feet with talons for grasping or destroying prey, and powerful, curved beaks for tearing flesh. Raptors, or birds of prey, are birds that mainly hunt and feed on vertebrates that are large in comparison to the hunter.

Birds of prey cast