Birds of Prey: An Introduction to the Raptors

From the IBC Bird Collection.  Species: Andean Condor   Vultur gryphus
                                                      Author: Andy Wombat

                                                      Date: Monday, July 2, 2012

                                                      Added to IBC: 7 Feb 2013 - 14:41

There is still considerable controversy surrounding the various families that are considered to be raptors or birds of prey and how they are related.  In their Birds of Prey entry, Wikipedia has a good summary diagram that includes the families now considered to be raptors among the Telluraves, though the relations among them are still not firmly set:

From this classification, the raptors are divided into two groups:  

1.  Those that hunt by day or diurnal birds of prey: 

• Accipitridae: hawks, eagles, buzzards, harriers, kites, and Old World vultures
• Pandionidae: the osprey
• Sagittariidae: the secretarybird
• Falconidae: falcons, caracaras, and forest falcons
• Cathartidae: New World vultures

2.  Those that hunt by night or nocturnal birds of prey which are exclusively made up of two sorts of owls:

• Strigidae: "typical owls"
• Tytonidae: barn and bay owls

The Spruce provides a good summary of the raptors and their primary characteristics:

Raptor Profile and Types

 The Spruce also provides some other interesting pages on raptors and their behaviour:

Mantling - How Raptors Eat

What do Birds of Prey Eat?

Kettle of Hawks - Flocks of Birds of Prey

 Science Trek education site has a good introductory page on the various types of raptors and considers their primary characteristics to be:

• hooked beaks with sharp edges
• feet with sharp, curved claws or talons
• keen eyesight

By this definition, raptors belong to three scientific orders:  the Accipitriformes,
the Strigiformes and Falconiformes. The orders are divided into six groups with a total of about 446 species worldwide. They include:

• secretary bird (1 species in Africa)
• falcons (63 species)
• osprey (1 species)
• hawks and eagles (226 species)
• vultures (7 species)
• owls (148 species)

Read more on these raptors at their site:

Science Trek on Types of Raptors

National Geographic provides an excellent documentary:

Wild Birds of Prey ( Raptors, Hawks, Falcons )

There are other documentaries that also provide a good introduction to birds of prey:

Eagle, Falcon, Owl - Birds Of Prey:

 Nature 2018 HD Documentary

 

Secret Nature - Facts About Birds of Prey 

| Bird Documentary | Natural History Channel

 

As usual the great Cornell Ornithology Lab site All About Birds has some excellent raptor info:

Tips for Raptor Watching Season

 

Sharpen Up Your Sharpie ID With New Crossley Raptor Guide

  

Raptors of Winter

 

New Crossley ID Quiz Challenges You to ID Raptors from Above 

 

A Hawk Watching Quiz on the Prairie

 Crossley Style

    

Q&A with Brian Sullivan

 Coauthor of Crossley ID Guide: Raptors

 

Do raptors make good neighbors?  Apparently...at least for hummingbirds: 

Raptors Make Good Neighbors

Hawks nearby? Good! This Black-chinned Hummingbird rests easy knowing that hawks will drive away (or eat) potential nest predators such as a raccoon or jay.    
Photo © Ashley Cohrt

 

 

 

NOW VISIT VARIOUS BIRDS OF PREY:

Birds of Prey: The Osprey
Birds of Prey: Owls
Birds of Prey: Haast's Eagle
Birds of Prey: Great Nicobar Serpent Eagle
Birds of Prey: Steller's Sea Eagle
Birds of Prey: Eagle on Stilts
Birds of Prey: Gyrfalcon
Birds of Prey: White-Tailed Eagle