Birds of Prey
What is a Bird of Prey?
A bird of prey or raptor is a bird that hunts for food primarily
using its talons. They display a characteristic curved tip to their
beak and have superb vision. Those that are active during the day
(diurnal) are classified as follows:
• Accipitriformes
o Cathartidae: New World vultures
o Pandionidae: Osprey
o Accipitridae: Hawks, eagles, buzzards, kites and Old World vultures
o Sagittariidae: Secretary Bird
• Falconiformes
o Falconidae: Falcons
Within the Falconiformes and Acciptriformes there are approximately
290 species of which only around 60 are contained in the former
assemblage.
• Strigiformes
o Strigidae: Owls
The nocturnal owls are also classified as
raptors but rely primarily on acute hearing to locate their prey.
Number of UK species = 15
In the UK we have four falcons that are know to breed regularly
here: In order of size they are the Merlin, Kestrel, Hobby and
Peregrine. There are two true species of hawk, or accipiter,
the Sparrowhawk and Goshawk . There are two buzzards, the
common buzzard
and honey buzzard. There are also three species of Harrier- the
Hen, Montagu’s and Marsh harrier. The largest species of
bird of prey in the British Isles are the White tailed sea eagle
and the golden eagle. The two remaining species are the red kite,
recovering well from historic persecution at the hands of man
and the osprey which suffered the same fate over the previous
two centuries
but whose numbers are also on the rise.
The noctural species of birds of prey, namely the owls are as
follows:
Little owl, Tawny Owl, Barn Owl, Short-eared Owl and Long-Eared
Owl. These are all small to medium sized species but the Eurasian
Eagle Owl, the largest species of owl of all, is believed to
be establishing a viable breeding colony comprised of birds that
have
escaped from captivity. Given the fact that the beatuful snowy
owl is also a rare visitor to our shores we are well blessed
with owls in the UK!
Most people when sizing up birds of prey will be understandably
cautious about the sharp hooked beak. This feature of the
raptors is certainly formidible but of little conseqence when compared
with the power contained in these birds talons. The feet
of
birds of prey are essentially made up from bone, sinew
and some rather
impressive claws. These are powered by strong muscles held
in the thigh of the animal. In addition, the structure
of the foot
in
many species of bird of prey allows it to lock when it has
a decent grip on its prey. No matter how much the prey
item bucks
and kicks
the hawk cannot let it go. Once the victim is subdued the
previously redundant raptor beak comes into its own when tearing
at the
flesh. Most birds of prey will grip their food in the beak
and use their
entire body musculature to assist the beak in removing edible
morsels. However, many owls simply swallow their prey whole.
In falcons
there is an extension on the upper part of the beak called
the tomial tooth. It is thought that this structure is
used to break
the necks of the falcons avian prey.
So the feet are what defines a bird of prey but all raptors
share a number of other features. Those active during the day
have
excellent eyesight being much more sensitive to movement than
our own in
addition to much better distance vision. They also have a number
of specialisations in body form. Some are adapted to fast,
highly manouevrable flight, such as the accipters or true hawks.
Others,
like the falcons have long scythe shaped wings that give them
the ability to reach incredible speeds in downwards flight.
In short,
birds of prey are pretty amazing things!
