An Introduction To Popular Birds Of Prey

Birds Of Prey – Such a lovely group of birds, with sharp eagles to hte majestic owls. Our guest author Amber Hobson has provided us with her ultimate guide to these amazing birds.

Your Ultimate Guide to Popular Birds of Prey

Your Ultimate Guide to Popular Birds of Prey
By Amber Hobson

Birds of prey are great, powerful birds that hunt for other animals or preys as food using their large talons mainly, rather than their beaks. These are huge birds with great vision and their flight skills are exceptional. They are also called as raptors. Their talons and beaks are larger and sharper than most birds, perfect for tearing animal flesh. Female raptors are bigger than their male counterparts. If you want to know more about the most popular birds of prey, here is a list and a brief description of each bird.

Eagles

These are probably the most popular raptors in the list. They are large and very powerful birds. They live on very high trees, usually not lower than 75 feet. And they build their nests using sticks. They take a long time, about six weeks, to build their nests. Their wings are notable for their extraordinary span, the main reason why eagles can glide in the air for a long time without flapping their wings. These birds lay two eggs generally. However, the more dominant chick, usually female, kills its younger and weaker sibling.

Falcons

These are small to medium sized raptors and they are known for their flight speed. Some species can fly as fats as 200 miles per hour. Their wings are tapered and they do not build their won nests. Today, people use the term ‘falconry’ to refer to a practice that uses trained raptors for hunting.

Hawks

The size of hawks is similar to that of the falcons. They hunt for preys by flying slowly and sometimes by walking. Just like their bigger cousins, the eagles, hawks also build stick nests. But they lay more eggs than the eagles, usually 6 or more eggs.

Kites

These are not as powerful and aggressive as the other birds on the list. They only feed on insects, snails, and small animals. They are also scavengers because they eat garbage and dead animals.

Osprey

This family has one species and they live near water. They hunt for food in the body of water. They can hover above water and dive when they find the right time to attack and catch the prey.

Owls

These are nocturnal raptors. They have eyes that face forward and a disc-like face which they use to detect sounds at night. Their feathers are soft, which makes them almost soundless when they are flying.

Vultures

These are popular scavengers that feed on bodies of dead animals. Their heads are bald, which keeps them clean whenever they poke their heads into the flesh of dead animals to eat.

Amber Hobson has been writing articles online for almost 5 years. Take a look at her latest website http://www.windowbirdfeedershop.com and check out a window bird feeder for your bird watching enjoyment.

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Thanks Amber, so next time you see a bird of prey, hopefully you’ll know a little more about them.