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Slim, medium-sized bird of prey. Males are blue-grey above, with a paler underside and black tips to their wings. Females are mainly brown, with a streaked body and wings, and bars on their tail. Both males and females have a noticeable white rump. Rounded, owl-like face shape. Yellow beak with a black tip.
Sep 25, 2024 · raptor, in general, any bird of prey; the term raptor is sometimes restricted to birds of the order Falconiformes (hawks, eagles, falcons, and their allies). See bird of prey. This article was most recently revised and updated by
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predators have keen eyesight for detecting prey from a distance or during flight, strong feet with sharp talons for grasping or killing prey, and powerful, curved ...
- What Is A Raptor?
- Identify Raptors
- Are Some Raptors in Danger of Being Extinct?
A raptor is a carnivorous (meat-eating) bird. All raptors share at least three main characteristics: 1. Keen eyesight 2. Eight sharp talons 3. A hooked beak Raptors, also called birds of prey, have existed in some form for 50 to 75 million years. There are approximately 482 species of raptor worldwide, 304 diurnal (day-active) species and 178 noctu...
Find out more about raptor species found in the upper Midwest, from how to spot them, to where they live, to what they eat. For help in identifying raptors, check out the Guide to Identification of Midwest Raptors (PDF).
Through our research and conservation efforts, The Raptor Center helps understand emerging health concerns and issues for raptor populations. For the international conservation status of a particular species read the IUCN red list.
- Osprey, Pandion haliaetus. Bigger than a buzzard, the osprey has pale underparts, long wingtip feathers and dark patches where the wings bend. It can be mistaken for a gull.
- Red Kite, Milvus milvus. This elegant bird of prey has a uniquely forked tail and angular wings that give it a rakish silhouette. It has a buoyant flight style, constantly altering its wing and tail pitch to execute sudden changes of direction.
- Marsh harrier, Circus aeruginosus. A buzzard-sized bird of prey with a long tail. It flies with its wings lifted up in an obvious ‘V’ shape, though this can be hard to see from below.
- Buzzard, Buteo buteo. Britain’s commonest bird of prey, the buzzard is the species most often seen soaring. It wheels about in the air on broad wings, with its tail fanned out and wingtip feathers widely splayed.
Nov 4, 2023 · A raptor is a hypercarnivorous bird of prey. A hypercarnivore is any animal that has a diet made of 70 percent meat, whether this is achieved through predation or scavenging carrion. The word raptor comes from the Latin word rapere , which means to ‘seize’ or ‘plunder.’
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What Is A Raptor? Raptors are a group of birds linked by what they eat - meat! Although these birds share many similar features, recent advances in science indicate that many of the species are not as closely related as we once believed. This is a process called convergent evolution, where different animals that fulfill an ecological role often ...
