All About Birds Pg 2
The Raptors
Birds of prey or "raptors" are meat eating
birds that use their strong feet, talons and hooked beaks to catch and
kill their prey. This group includes eagles, osprey, hawks, owls (Great
Horned Owl),
kites, harriers, buzzards, merlins, vultures, goshawks
and condors. They eat small mammals such as mice and
rabbits, fish, snakes, and even other birds. Some catch and kill
their food and others (like vultures) feast on the leftovers other hunters
leave behind.
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bald eagle
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Look at the photo of the bald eagle to the left.
Can you see how strong it's beak looks? See how it has a hooked
end? This beak is used to tear into flesh.
Birds don't have teeth... can you guess why? Teeth
are heavy and would make it very difficult for birds to fly. This is
especially important for birds of prey who must fly swiftly to catch their
food. Birds "chew" their food inside a part of the stomach
called the gizzard. The gizzard has strong muscles which grind the
food against a rough inner surface to break it down. |
I spy with my little eye...
Raptor eyes are so big that they cannot move them.
The bird has to turn its entire head to look around (that's where the idea
that owls can spin their heads around comes from... they can't really, but
they can turn their heads a LOT farther than we can!)
The eyes of a raptor are so important for their
survival, that they have three eyelids. The third one is partially
see-through (partly "transparent") which allows the birds
of prey to protect their eyes when attacking prey and still have some
sight.
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owl
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| Birds of prey have eyesight that
is at least two or three times better than ours. Some can see a
grasshopper from the other side of a football field! Golden eagles
can spot a rabbit from over a mile away and owls have great night vision
so they can hunt in the dark.
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hawk |
A bird of prey's toenails are called talons.
Talons are very sharp, hook-like appendages that are used to catch prey
and balance on trees.
Raptors that spend a lot of time soaring above the
ground in search of prey have long broad wings that allow them to catch
rising air currents and soar through the air. Soaring saves energy
because the bird doesn't have to flap its wings to stay aloft.
Soaring also makes it harder for a potential meal to spot the bird of
prey. |
Raptor Babies
No matter what type of animal we're talking about,
babies are cute -- but they're also a lot of work.
From just before the eggs are laid to midway through the
nesting period, the male bird is busy hunting for food for the female and
babies. |
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Most birds of prey lay one to six eggs, but they don't lay
them all at once. They wait a day or two after each egg before laying the
next. The first chick to hatch is bigger than the others and may actually
kill it's younger siblings if food is scarce. I'm sure all of us oldest
children have envied the raptors once or twice in our lifetimes.
The length of time it takes for the babies to get large enough
to start flying is called the "fledgling period". This can be
anywhere between 20 and 150 days. This is a big part of the raptor
parents' life! Especially since they lay eggs every year.
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Scientific information: Raptors
are part of two scientific "orders" Falconiformes and Strigiformes.
Falconiformes are "diurnal" which means they hunt mainly during
the day -- for example, eagles, hawks and falcons. This order includes
four "families" -- Cathartidae (vultures), Accipitridae
(hawks, eagles and kites), Pandionidae (osprey), Falconidae
(falcon and kestrel).
Stringiformes is just a fancy way of
saying owls. This order includes two "families" -- the Tytonidae
(barn owls) and the Strigidae (all other owls).
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Peregrine Falcon
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BIRDS
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