They will take live vertebrate prey, but mostly feed on insects or even carrion. Kites have long wings and relatively weak 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. Harriers are large, slender hawk-like birds with long tails and long thin legs.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).They usually have long tails for tight steering.

They are mainly woodland birds that hunt by sudden dashes from a concealed perch. The true hawks are medium-sized birds of prey that usually belong to the genus Accipiter (see below).Booted eagles have legs and feet feathered to the toes and build very large stick nests. Eagles tend to be large birds with long, broad wings and massive feet.Some extinct predatory birds had talons similar to those of modern birds of prey, including mousebird relatives ( Sandcoleidae), Messelasturidae and some Enantiornithes, indicating possibly similar habits. Examples of birds of prey not encompassed by the ornithological definition include storks, herons, gulls, phorusrhacids, skuas, penguins, kookaburras, and shrikes, as well as the many songbirds that are primarily insectivorous. Īlthough 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. In addition to hunting live prey, many birds, such as fish eagles, vultures, and condors, eat carrion. The term raptor is derived from the Latin word rapio, meaning to seize or take by force. Additionally, they have keen eyesight for detecting food at a distance or during flight, strong feet equipped with talons for grasping or killing prey, and powerful, curved beaks for tearing flesh. From top left to right: eurasian eagle-owl, king vulture, peregrine falcon, golden eagle and bearded vultureĬladistically included but traditionally excluded taxaīirds of prey, also known as raptors, include species of bird that primarily hunt and feed on vertebrates that are large relative to the hunter. For other uses, see Bird of Prey (disambiguation) and Birds of Prey (disambiguation).

Raptor chart