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Identification of birds of prey

Identify preying birds

Birds of prey, also known as birds of prey, are specialized predators that hunt and feed primarily on other animals. They possess unique physical characteristics, such as sharp claws, curved beaks and excellent vision, which allow them to detect, pursue and capture their prey with precision.

These birds include hawks, eagles, vultures and owls, and play a crucial role in balancing ecosystems by regulating populations of small mammals and other species. Their majesty and hunting skills make them some of the most fascinating and respected creatures in the animal kingdom.

Family of birds of prey

What is a bird of prey

Diurnal raptors

When we talk about diurnal raptors, we include different groups of birds: eagles, falcons, vultures, kites, goshawks and sparrows.

The diurnal body is not as short as the nocturnal: the beak is more exposed, also the legs and the face is not so round and flat.

All of them have a specially developed sense for hunting: sight. As well as at night, it is essential to listen, during the day it is very important to look.

The image resolution is better than ours, and they can focus so that they can detect moving shots at great distances. Compared to our vision, we would say they can magnify up to 8 times more, it would be the same effect when looking through 8 magnification binoculars.

Daytime

Eagles and eagles

The group of eagles stands out above all because the strength of their talons and the dexterity they have for hunting are well known.

Aligots are also from the family of eagles. They look like small eagles, and in flight, they can often be mistaken for them.

Vultures

In general, we call vultures those that feed on animals they already find dead, that is, they are necrophages. In the Iberian Peninsula we can observe 4 species, and the most abundant is the Common Vulture (Gyps fulvus).

The long, drooping neck immediately catches the eye. The head is also covered only with down, because that way it is more practical and hygienic when feeding. The sizes of this species are spectacular: between 240-280 cm wingspan and a weight of approximately 8 Kg.

Snippet of Harris

Black vulture

Common vulture

African Vulture

Himalayan vulture

Palm vulture

Common aufrany

Dark aufrany

Falcons

The group of hawks is quite different from that of eagles and vultures. They are medium in size, have curved wings, and are specialists in catching prey in the air. Their preferred habitat is open ground, where they can chase prey at high speeds. In fact, the fastest of all is the Peregrine Falcon, which is said to reach 300 km/h when swooping down! A robust, aerodynamic body and fast wingbeats make aerial pursuits possible.

But unlike nocturnals, hawks are very nervous. For this reason, the hood is used, which allows you to keep the eyes covered and so the bird is calmer.

Black Milan

Royal milan

Astor

Aura vulture

American Black Vulture

Secretary

Peregrine falcon

Queen’s Falcon

Woolly hawk

Holy falcon

Griffon

Common kestrel

Caracara

White crow

Nocturnal raptors

Nocturnal raptors are ready to fly and hunt in the twilight. Thanks to their large eyes with a large number of light-sensitive cells, they can move through the forest and fields looking for small mammals. In addition, the ear is highly developed to be able to accurately detect the most imperceptible noises by the human ear. Once they have detected the prey, they start the hunting flight which, unlike diurnal birds of prey, is extremely silent.

Nocturnal

Grand duke

Duke of the Cape

American Duke

African duke

Gamarús of Lapland

Gamarús

Barn owl

White face shot

Owl

The Accipitridae

The Accipitridae is one of the three families within the order Accipitriformes, and is a family of small to large birds of prey with strongly hooked bills and variable morphology based on diet. They feed on a range of prey items from insects to medium-sized mammals, with a number feeding on carrion and a few feeding on fruit.

The Accipitridae have a cosmopolitan distribution, being found on all the world’s continents (except Antarctica) and a number of oceanic island groups. Some species are migratory. The family contains 255 species which are divided into 70 genera. Many well-known birds such as hawks, eagles, kites, harriers and Old World vultures are included in this group.

The osprey is usually placed in a separate family (Pandionidae), as is the secretary bird (Sagittariidae), and the New World vultures are also usually now regarded as a separate family or order.

Systematics and Phylogeny

The accipitrids have been variously divided into some five to ten subfamilies. Most share a very similar morphology, but many of these groups contain taxa that are more aberrant. These are placed in their respective position more for lack of better evidence than anything else. The phylogenetic layout of the accipitrids has thus always been a matter of dispute.

The accipitrids are recognizable by a peculiar rearrangement of their chromosomes. Apart from this, morphology and mtDNA cytochrome b sequence data give a confusing picture of these birds’ inter-relationships. The hawks, kites, eagles and Old World vultures as presently assigned in all likelihood do not form monophyletic groups.

According to the molecular data, the Buteoninae are most likely poly- or paraphyletic, with the true eagles, the sea eagles, and the buteonine hawks apparently representing distinct lineages. These appear to form a group with the Milvinae, Accipitrinae and Circinae, but the exact relationships between the lineages are not robustly resolvable.

The Perninae and possibly the Elaninae are older lineages, as are the Old World vultures. The latter are likely also poly- or paraphyletic, with some aberrant species like the bearded and Egyptian vultures standing apart from the naked-necked «true» vultures.

Taxonomy

Family of birds of prey

Below is the taxonomy after the phylogeny from the studies of Mindell et al. (2018), Starikov & Wink (2020), and Sangster et al. (2021). The family contains 255 species and is divided into 70 genera.

Genus Gampsonyx

The pearl kite is a very small raptor found in open savanna habitat adjacent to deciduous woodland. It is the only member of the genus Gampsonyx. The scientific name commemorates the English naturalist William Swainson.

Genus Chelictinia

The scissor-tailed kite, also known as African swallow-tailed kite or fork-tailed kite, is a bird of prey in the monotypic genus Chelictinia in the family Accipitridae. It is widespread in the northern tropics of Africa.

scissor-tailed kite

Genus Elanus

Elanus is a genus of bird of prey in the elanine kite subfamily. It was introduced by the French zoologist Jules-César Savigny in 1809 with the black-winged kite as the type species. The name is from the Ancient Greek elanos for a «kite».

Subfamily Gypaetinae – gypaetine vultures and harrier-hawks

Genus Polyboroides

Polyboroides is a genus of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. This genus has two recognized species found in Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. The two species are allopatric and restricted to the Afrotropical realm. They are generally known as harrier-hawks.

Genus Gypohierax

The palm-nut vulture or vulturine fish eagle, is a large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is the only member of the genus Gypohierax.

Genus Neophron

The Egyptian vulture, also called the white scavenger vulture or pharaoh’s chicken, is a small Old World vulture in the monotypic genus Neophron. It is widely distributed from the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa, West Asia and India. The contrasting underwing pa…

Genus Gypaetus

The bearded vulture, also known as the lammergeier and ossifrage, is a very large bird of prey in the monotypic genus Gypaetus. Traditionally considered an Old World vulture, it actually forms a separate minor lineage of Accipitridae together with the Egyptian v…

Subfamily Perninae – honey-buzzards (including pernine kites, cuckoo-hawks, bazas and Madagascar serpent eagle)

Genus Eutriorchis

The Madagascar serpent eagle is a species of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is placed in the monotypic genus Eutriorchis.
It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests. It is threatened by habitat loss.0

Genus Leptodon

Leptodon is a genus of birds of prey. Its two members are similar, with a grey head, black upperparts and white underparts.

Genus Chondrohierax

Chondrohierax is a genus of birds of prey in the family Accipitridae. Its two members, the hook-billed kite and the Cuban kite, are often considered to be conspecific. The hook-billed kite is widespread in the warmer parts of the Americas, while the Cuban kite is a critically endang…

Genus Elanoides

The swallow-tailed kite is a pernine raptor which breeds from the southeastern United States to eastern Peru and northern Argentina. It is the only species in the genus Elanoides. Most North and Central American breeders winter in South America where the species is resident y…

Genus Pernis

Pernis is a genus of birds in the raptor subfamily Perninae. Its members are commonly known as honey buzzards. The genus name is derived from Ancient Greek pernes περνης, a term used by Aristotle for a bird of prey.

Genus Aviceda

The bazas, Aviceda, are a genus of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. The genus has a widespread distribution from Australia to southern Asia and across to Africa. The bazas are sometimes known as cuckoo-hawks.

Genus Hamirostra

The black-breasted buzzard is a large raptor endemic to mainland Australia. First described by John Gould in 1841, it forms part of the family Accipitridae and is most closely related to the square-tailed kite. It is a versatile hunter known for its special skill in cracking eggs.

Genus Lophoictinia

The square-tailed kite is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as kites, eagles and harriers.

Genus Henicopernis

Henicopernis is a genus of bird of prey in the family Accipitridae.

Subfamily Circaetinae – serpent eagles

Genus Spilornis

Genus Pithecophaga

Genus Terathopius

Genus Circaetus

Genus Dryotriorchis

Subfamily Aegypiinae – Old World vultures

Genus Sarcogyps

Genus Trigonoceps

Genus Torgos

Genus Aegypius

Genus Necrosyrtes

Genus Gyps

Subfamily Harpiinae – forest eagles

Genus Macheiramphus

Genus Harpyopsis

Genus Morphnus

Genus Harpia

Subfamily Aquilinae – booted eagles

  • Genus Stephanoaetus
  • Genus Nisaetus
  • Genus Spizaetus
  • Genus Lophotriorchis
  • Genus Polemaetus
  • Genus Lophaetus
  • Genus Ictinaetus
  • Genus Clanga
  • Genus Hieraaetus
  • Genus Aquila (paraphyletic to Hieraaetus)

Subfamily Lophospizinae – crested goshawk

  • Genus Lophospiza

Subfamily Harpaginae – harpagine hawks and kites

  • Genus Microspizias
  • Genus Kaupifalco
  • Genus Harpagus

Subfamily Melieraxinae – melieraxine hawks

  • Genus Micronisus
  • Genus Melierax
  • Genus Urotriorchis

Subfamily Accipitrinae – accipitrine hawks

  • Genus Erythrotriorchis
  • Genus Megatriorchis
  • Genus Accipiter

Subfamily Circinae

  • Genus Circus

Subfamily Buteoninae – buteonine hawks (including milvine kites and sea-eagles)

  • Genus Milvus
  • Genus Haliastur
  • Genus Haliaeetus
  • Genus Icthyophaga
  • Genus Butastur
  • Genus Ictinia
  • Genus Busarellus
  • Genus Rostrhamus
  • Genus Helicolestes
  • Genus Geranospiza
  • Genus Cryptoleucopteryx
  • Genus Buteogallus
  • Genus Morphnarchus
  • Genus Rupornis
  • Genus Parabuteo
  • Genus Geranoaetus
  • Genus Pseudastur
  • Genus Leucopternis
  • Genus †Bermuteo
  • Genus Buteo

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