WikiSysop at 07:16, 11 May 2008

2008-05-11T07:16:23Z

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<p>A <strong>Raptor (bird of prey)</strong>, is a bird that hunts for food primarily on the wing, using its keen senses, especially vision; the talons and beaks tend to be relatively large, powerful and adapted for tearing and/or piercing flesh.</p>
<p>Diurnal birds of prey traditionally belong to the order Falconiformes:</p>
<ul>
<li>
<ul>
<li>Accipitridae: Hawks, eagles, buzzards, harriers, kites and Old World vultures </li>
<li>Pandionidae: Osprey (sometimes classified as subfamily Pandioninae of the previous family) </li>
<li>Sagittariidae: Secretary-bird </li>
<li>Falconidae: Falcons and caracaras </li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>The New World vultures are usually also regarded as raptors, although they may not be closely related to the other groups.</p>
<p>Nocturnal raptors - the owls - are not classified with either of the aforementioned taxa but are instead considered to be members of two extant families - the Strigidae (typical owls) and the Tytonidae (barn and bay owls) - of the order Strigiformes.</p>
<p>The observation that otherwise unrelated bird groups may perform similar ecological roles and bear striking morphological similarities to one another is explained largely by the idea of convergent evolution.</p>
<p> </p>
<h2><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline">Raptor names</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><strong>Eagles</strong> tend to be large birds with long, broad wings and massive feet. Booted eagles have legs and feet feathered to the toes and build very large stick nests. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>Kites</strong> have long wings and relatively weak legs. They spend much of their time soaring. They will take live vetebrate prey but mostly feed on insects or even carrion. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>The <strong>true hawks</strong> are medium-sized birds of prey that usually belong to the genus <em>Accipiter</em> (see below). They are mainly woodland birds that hunt by sudden dashes from a concealed perch. They usually have long tails for tight steering. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>Buzzards</strong> are medium-large raptors with robust bodies and broad wings, or, alternatively, any bird of the genus <em>Buteo</em> (also commonly known as "hawks" in North America). </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>Harriers</strong> are large, slender hawk-like birds with long tails and long thin legs. Most hunt small vertebrates with a combination of keen eyesight and hearing, gliding and circling low over grasslands and marshes on their long broad wings. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>Vultures</strong> are carrion-eating raptors of two distinct biological families, each occurring in only the Eastern Hemisphere (Accipitridae) or the Western (Cathartidae). Members of both groups have heads either partly or fully denuded of feathers. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>Falcons</strong> are small to medium sized birds of prey with long pointed wings. Unlike most other raptors, they belong to the Falconidae rather than the Accipitridae. Many are particularly swift flyers. Instead of building their own nests, falcons appropriate old nests of other birds but sometimes they lay their eggs on cliff ledges or in tree hollows. Caracaras are a distinct subgroup of the Falconidae unique to the New World, and most common in the Neotropics - broad wings, naked faces and the appetites of a generalist suggest some level of convergence with either the <em>Buteo</em>s or the vulturine birds, or both. </li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><strong>Owls</strong> are variable-sized, typically night-specialized hunting birds. They fly soundlessly and have very acute senses of hearing and low-light vision. </li>
</ul>
<div class="thumb tright">
<div style="width: 182px;" class="thumbinner"><img width="180" height="125" border="0" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c7/Bald.eagle.closeup.arp-sh.750pix.jpg/180px-Bald.eagle.closeup.arp-sh.750pix.jpg" alt="Bald Eagle at Combe Martin Wildlife and Dinosaur Park, North Devon, England" class="thumbimage" />
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<div class="magnify"><span style="border: 2px none rgb(0, 0, 255); font-size: 0px; background-image: none; vertical-align: middle;" class=""><span style="width: 1px; height: 1px;"></span></span></div>
Bald Eagle at Combe Martin Wildlife and Dinosaur Park, North Devon, England</div>
</div>
</div>
<p> </p>
<h2><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline">References</span></h2>
<ul>
<li><strong>Remsen</strong>, J. V., Jr., C. D. Cadena, A. Jaramillo, M. Nores, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, T. S. Schulenberg, F. G. Stiles, D. F. Stotz, and K. J. Zimmer. [Version 2007-04-05.] A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithologists' Union. Accessed 2007-04-10. </li>
</ul>
<p> </p>
<h2><span class="editsection"></span><span class="mw-headline">External links</span></h2>
<ul>
<li>[http://raptorpedia.org Raptorpedia.org]: The openfree encyclopedia of raptors. </li>
<li>[http://birdpedia.org Birdpedia.org]: The openfree encyclopedia of birds. </li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.peregrinefund.org/explore_raptors/index.html" title="http://www.peregrinefund.org/explore_raptors/index.html" class="external text">Explore Birds of Prey</a> with The Peregrine Fund </li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" href="http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/" title="http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/" class="external text">Birds of prey videos</a> on the Internet Bird Collection </li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.helydon.co.uk/" title="http://www.helydon.co.uk" class="external text">Helydon Show Dogs and Birds of Prey</a> </li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.birdwatching-bliss.com/bird-pictures.html" title="http://www.birdwatching-bliss.com/bird-pictures.html" class="external text">Bird of Prey Pictures</a> </li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.globalraptors.org/" title="http://www.globalraptors.org" class="external text">Global Raptor Information Network</a> </li>
<li><a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.thearb.org/birds_of_prey_demos.htm" title="http://www.thearb.org/birds_of_prey_demos.htm" class="external text">The Arboretum at Flagstaff's Wild Birds of Prey Program</a> </li>
</ul>

Raptor - Revision history

WikiSysop at 07:16, 11 May 2008