Birds of prey, or raptors, include species of bird that primarily hunt and feed on vertebrates
that are large relative to the hunter.
Additionally, they have keen eyesight for detecting food at a distance or during flight,
strong feet equipped with talons for grasping or killing prey, and powerful, curved beaks
for tearing flesh.
The term raptor is derived from the Latin word rapio, meaning to seize or take by force.
In addition to hunting live prey, most also eat carrion, at least occasionally, and vultures
and condors eat carrion as their main food source.
Despite of the typical appearance you have in mind regarding the birds in this bird category,
some species are actually really beautiful.
Here are the 10 most beautiful birds of prey in the world.
Number 10.
The pale chanting goshawk breeds in southern Africa and is a resident species of dry, open
semi-desert with less annual rainfall.
It is commonly seen perched on roadside telephone poles.
This species is approximately 55 cm (22 in) in length with a wingspan of 110 cm (43 in).
The adult has grey upperparts with a white rump.
The central tail feathers are black tipped with white, while the outer tail feathers,
head, and upper breast are barred in grey and white.
The bill is red at the base and dark grey at the tip.
The cere, facial skin and long legs are also red.
In flight, the adult has black primary flight feathers, very pale grey secondaries, and
grey forewings.
From below, the flight feathers and tail are white with black barring.
Number 9.
The black-and-white hawk-eagle is found throughout a large part of tropical America, from southern
Mexico to northern Argentina.
It is some 50-60 cm (20-24 in) long overall and weighs about 850 g (30 oz).
The head, neck and body are white; a small crest forms a black spot on top of the head,
and the area around the eyes, particularly towards the bill, is also black.
The wings are black, and the bird has a brownish tail barred black-dark grey and with white
tip.
The iris is orange, the feet pale to bright yellow with black talons.
The bill is black with a yellow cere.
The sexes are alike in color, but the female is larger.
The black-and-white hawk-eagle is hard to confuse with any other bird in its range.
The black-faced hawk is very similar in overall coloration, but it is much smaller and has
a black tail with a single bold white bar in the middle.
Number 8.
The collared falconet is found in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
Its natural habitat is temperate forests, often on the edges of broadleaf forest.
The collared falconet is a very small falcon with the length of 18 cm (7 inches), shrike-like
in shape, mainly pied and having bold white supercilia and collar, with relatively heavy
double-toothed bill.
It has shortish wings, a medium-length tail, strong half-feathered legs, and powerful feet.
It perches conspicuously on top or edge of tree or bush, often on dead twig, frequently
bobbing head and slowly moving tail up and down; wing-tips less than half down tail.
Sexes are similar.
Number 7.
The secretarybird is a very large, mostly terrestrial bird of prey, usually found in
the open grasslands and savannah of the sub-Saharan region.
The secretary bird is instantly recognizable as a very large bird with an eagle-like body
on crane-like legs which increases the bird's height to as much as 1.3 m (4.3 ft) tall.
This bird has an eagle-like head with a hooked bill, but has rounded wings.
The neck is not especially long, and can only be lowered down to the inter-tarsal joint,
so birds reaching down to the ground or drinking must stoop to do so.
ecretary bird flight feathers and thighs are black, while most of the coverts are grey
with some being white.
It has a large wedge-shaped tail with alternating white and black banding at its ends.
Sexes look similar to one another, although the male has longer head plumes and tail feathers.
Adults have a featherless red-orange face as opposed to the yellow facial skin of the
young.
Number 6.
The northern caracara is a resident in Cuba, northern South America and most of Central
America and Mexico, just reaching the southernmost parts of the United States, including Florida,
where it is resident but listed as threatened.
The northern caracara has a length of 49-58 cm (19-23 in), a wingspan of 122-125 cm (48-49
in), and weighs around 1 kg.
Average weight is higher in the north of the range, smaller in the tropics.
Among caracaras, it is second in size only to the southern caracara.
Broad-winged and long-tailed, it also has long legs and frequently walks and runs on
the ground.
It is very cross-shaped in flight.
The adult has a black body, wings, crest and crown.
The neck, rump, and conspicuous wing patches are white, and the tail is white with black
barring and a broad terminal band.
The breast is white, finely barred with black.
The bill is thick, grey and hooked, and the legs are yellow.
The cere and facial skin are deep yellow to orange-red depending on age and mood.
Number 5.
The bat falcon is a resident breeder in tropical Mexico, Central and South America, and Trinidad.
The female bat falcon, at 30.5 cm (12 in) length, is much larger than the 23 cm (9 in)
long male.
Adults have a black back, head, and tail.
The throat, upper breast, and neck sides are creamy white, the lower breast and belly are
black, finely barred white, and the thighs and lower belly are orange.
Young birds are similar, but with a buffy throat.
This small dark bird of prey inhabits open woodlands and forest clearings.
Bat falcons perch conspicuously on high, open snags, from which they launch aerial attacks
on their prey.
They hunt bats, birds, and large insects such as dragonflies.
The smaller male takes more insects, and the female more birds and bats.
Number 4.
The slender American Kestrel is roughly the size and shape of a Mourning Dove, although
it has a larger head; longer, narrow wings, and long, square-tipped tail.
In flight, the wings are often bent and the wingtips swept back.
This bird of prey is pale when seen from below and warm, rusty brown spotted with black above,
with a black band near the tip of the tail.
Males have slate-blue wings, females' wings are reddish brown.
Both sexes have pairs of black vertical slashes on the sides of their pale faces, sometimes
called a "mustache" and a "sideburn."
It hunts insects, small mammals, and reptiles from a perch or on the wing.
It will hover above a field on rapidly beating wings, or soar in place in strong winds above
a hillside.
Flight style is quick and buoyant, almost erratic, with wings usually swept back.
Number 3.
The pygmy falcon, or African pygmy falcon lives in eastern and southern Africa and is
the smallest raptor on the continent.
As a small falcon, only 19 to 20 cm (8 in) long, it preys on insects, small reptiles,
and small mammals.
Adult pygmy falcons are white below and on the face, grey above, and females having a
chestnut back.
There are white "eye spots" on the nape.
Juveniles have a brown back, duller than adult females, with a rufous wash on the breast.
The flight feathers of the wings are spotted black and white, while the tail is barred
black and white.
Pygmy falcon territories are occasionally inhabited by groups, where there are more
than two adults living together and tending nestlings.
There are four potential reasons for this behaviour: defence, co-operative polyandry,
delayed dispersal of offspring and cooperation, and thermoregulation (warmth).
Number 2.
The black baza is found in the forests of the Northeast India, the eastern Himalayas,
China and Southeast Asia.
The black baza is a small and distinctively coloured raptor; it ranges from 30 to 35 cm
(12-14 in) in length, a 66 to 80 cm (26-31 in) wingspan and a weight of 168 to 224 g.
When perched, the upright crest and contrasting patterns make it difficult to misidentify.
In flight it is crow like and is often seen in small groups or flocks during migration.
It is somewhat crepuscular and more active at dusk and in overcast weather.
This bird has short, stout legs and feet with strong talons.
A prominent crest is a feature of this bird of prey.
Number 1.
The Bateleur eagle is the most famous of the snake eagles.
Bateleur is French for 'tightrope-walker'.
This name was probably chosen because of its distinctive aerial acrobatics.
Its pitch black feathers with white under the wings, bright red face and legs and black
beak are characteristic markings.
Unlike most creatures, female Bateleur eagles are larger than males.
It can take an immature Bateleur up to 8 years to shed all their brown plumage and turn in
to full adults.
The bateleur has exceptionally long wings and a short tail, so that its feet extend
beyond the tail in flight.
The bateleur's brown eyes are surrounded by facial skin that is a strikingly bright red,
and devoid of feathers.
As if to give a sense of artistic balance, the legs are the same brilliant red as the
face.