Wonder what’s soaring in the sky? It may be a bird of prey. Here are pictures of a few common raptors to help you identify them!
I had the opportunity to see four live birds of prey at a presentation by the Indiana Raptor Center—a non-profit organization dedicated to rehabilitation of sick and injured birds of prey.
First, it’s important to know what is meant by “bird of prey.” They are predatory birds which kill their food—with their feet!
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At the end of their toes are talons—needle-sharp claws used to catch and kill prey. There is a channel down the back of each talon to help their prey bleed out. This may sound extreme, but every animal has to eat, and this channel helps the prey die quickly!
Photo credit: www.tug44.org/wild.life/american-kestrel/
1. American Kestrel (above)
The smallest of falcons, American Kestrels are master mousers. Also called Sparrow Hawk, they prey on small birds and insects. They eat cicadas, too! Interestingly, they can hover in place to lock down on their prey. They are very fast flyers but small. To avoid being eaten by larger birds of prey, they have a false face with eyes on the back of their head.
Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/wallyhartshorn/496158295/
2. Eastern Screech-Owl (above)
A nighttime hunter, this small, stocky owl can fly silently thanks to the ruffled edges on the outside of its wings, which create air pockets and muffle noise, allowing it to swoop down on mice unaware. They can not see color, which is irrelevant at night anyway, and they have hearing that is 100 times better than humans’ to guide their flight. The little “ear tufts” on top of their head are NOT actually ears; naturalists believe that the tufts help to camouflage their round heads since few shapes in nature are circles. At night, they do not hoot! They make a tremolo or trill that you have probably heard but mistaken for an insect. Hear the screech-owl’s trilling sound!
3. Harris’s Hawk (above)
From the desert Southwest, Harris’s Hawk is stunningly beautiful with bold markings. The Harris’s hawks are unusual in that they hunt cooperatively in packs. They’ll also watch their nests together. The babies stay with the mother for a year and help to foster the new round of babies. These hawks will also “stack” or stand on top of each other to spot prey as a way of conserving energy. Harris’s Hawks are social with humans, too. The injured hawk that I met was making a happy “purring” sound while sitting on the arm of her handler.
4. Red-tailed Hawk (above)
This huge hawk weighs about 2.4 pounds, with a wingspan of 49 inches. Their strong talons ratchet down on their prey, exerting powerful pressure—300 to 400 psi.
The Red-tailed hawk is very common across North America and is sometimes referred to as the “chickenhawk” because it has a reputation of attacking chicken coops; however, this behavior is grossly overstated. Only desperately hungry or young, inexperienced hunters will kill chickens or other domestic animals.
Red-tailed hawks’ natural diet consists of rats, rabbits, and snakes. They are super-duper rodent killers that patrol large open fields; they work very hard for us every day, curbing rodent damage to our crops and property and combatting the spread of diseases. In fact, their role in the food chain is so valued that killing a bird of prey can result in a $100,000 fine and 10 years in jail.
Many bird of prey problems can be eliminated by simply housing poultry at night. If the problem persists, use netting or poultry wire.
How Birds of Prey Benefit Us
Just imagine: One rat can cause $14 of damage to a crop in a year. One pair of red-tailed hawks can dispatch 400 rats during a season. By preserving a few large trees, a farmer can encourage hawks to nest on his property, potentially preventing $5,600 in damage.
I am certainly thankful for any bird that helps to control the world’s rodent population!
Which types of birds of prey have you spotted in your area? Please share your experiences, stories, and comments below.
Catherine Boeckmann
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I live in southeast Tn. We have many lakes in my area & the Tennessee river. We have many hawks here & a few eagles. Across the street from my work is a tall cell tower. I have seen as many as 20 hawks sitting at the top of the tower. The most beautiful thing to see is when they take off from the tower. One by one, they open their wings & sail from the tower as if it had been choreographed!!! It takes my breath away! It amazes me how they so easily can hover in the updrafts without moving their wings. BEAUTIFUL : ) There's a golf course nearby. There's a family of Bald Eagles living in a tall tree on the course. They have a web cam in the tree so people can watch. One day I pulled it up & they had a rabbit in their nest & young chicks also! Isn't nature grand!
Can you give an example of the differences of wing shape between eagles and hawks when flying too high for identification. Around here they fly too high even for color identification underneath without field glasses. Occasionally you can see the white tail feathers of a mature eagle, but we also have the young. I never can remember which are which. Some have wing spread that is flat across the leading edge and others have a "V" shape (around here, might even be seagulls). Everybody seems to have different answers. They also call when they're that high up, but can't determine who's who. An article on this would be appreciated. Thank you.
I'm looking for information about ospreys. Where I live (FL) there are many and I have the good fortune to be able to observe them close up from my balcony, where they perch on a dead palm tree. Where do they go, where do they nest, and how often might I be able to observe them? Is there anything I can do to tempt them to stay nearby?
I'm looking for information about ospreys. Where I live (FL) there are many and I have the good fortune to be able to observe them close up from my balcony, where they perch on a dead palm tree. Where do they go, where do they nest, and how often might I be able to observe them?
I live in Portland, OR and we have a Red-Tail Hawk nest within a couple blocks of our house. She eats her meals in the top of the tree next door - in addition to rodents, our Hawks also dine on Pigeons (Rock Doves) since they are so plentiful. You can quite often see them perched on the light poles along the freeway, or being harassed by the Crows in the sky. There is an island in the river that bisects our downtown, and it has had Bald Eagle nests for quite a few years now. I've also seen a Peregrine Falcon, both in our neighborhood and downtown, and of course because of all the rivers, we have lots of Osprey. There are lots of all kinds of Owls in the area, but not usually around the city.
From Gladys VA, we see several variety's of birds of prey ranging from the owls, hawks, kestrel, and I am sure others. No eagles as yet though. Mostly in our area barn owls are prevalent. Not as dramatic but certainly a useful creature for keeping the rodent population at bay.
Yesterday, while out walking my dog, I saw two hawks/ospreys/? gliding low over my neighborhood. I first saw the birds a couple of weeks ago on a beautiful, cool, cloudless morning. On that day, against the clear, deep blue sky they glided in circles and soared on updrafts. I was certain they were watching me even as I marveled at them. Yesterday was overcast and cool and the two were circling at much lower altitude. Very much closer. Again, I stopped and watched them as with hardly a wing beat they glided and circled. I stood mesmerized as one of them folded his/her wings and in an instant dove straight at us. Instinctively, I moved to put my dog behind me as the beautiful bird pulled out of the dive two feet off the ground and thirty feet away from us. It was quite an experience and it happened in the blink of an eye.
We live in Southern Oregon and red tail hawks are sighted regularly, along with ospreys on the river.
I'm on the Tx., Ok. border, right in the middle. I se Many of the Red tail hawks here, and not once have they Ever offered to bother my chickens! However, there is a pair of owles (i have yet to identify) who make trouble at nite (specially for my cat). They have a Lovely *call*...Whoo, whoo...whoowhoo! Always the 4 pattern! Anyone know this bird? Tks!
I have a famiy of Coopers Hawks at my house! I love watching them fly through the trees! Very vocal! Puts the birds around on notice. :)
