Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and other smaller birds). In addition to speed and strength, these predators have keen eyesight for detecting prey from a distance or during flight, strong feet with sharp talons for grasping or killing prey, and powerful, curved beaks for tearing off flesh. Although predatory birds primarily hunt live prey, many species (such as fish eagles, vultures and condors) also scavenge and eat carrion.

Although the term "bird of prey" could theoretically be taken to include all birds that actively hunt and eat other animals, ornithologists typically use the narrower definition followed in this page, excluding both piscivorous predators such as storks, herons, gulls, skuas, penguins and kingfishers, as well as primarily insectivorous birds such as passerine birds (e.g. shrikes) and birds like nightjars and frogmouths. Some extinct predatory birds had talons similar to those of modern birds of prey, including mousebird relatives (Sandcoleidae), Messelasturidae and some Enantiornithes, indicating possible convergent evolution

The term raptor is derived from the Latin word rapio, meaning "to seize or take by force". The common names for various birds of prey are based on structure, but many of the traditional names do not reflect the evolutionary relationships between the groups.

Variations in shape and size

• Eagles tend to be large, powerful birds with long, broad wings and massive feet. Booted eagles have legs and feet feathered to the toes and build very large stick nests.

• Falcons and kestrels are medium-size birds of prey with long pointed wings, and many are particularly swift flyers. They belong to the family Falconidae, only distantly related to the Accipitriformes above. Caracaras are a distinct subgroup of the Falconidae unique to the New World, and most common in the Neotropics – their broad wings, naked faces and appetites of a generalist suggest some level of convergence with either Buteo or the vulturine birds, or both.

• True hawks are medium-sized birds of prey that usually belong to the genus Accipiter (see below). They are mainly woodland birds that hunt by sudden dashes from a concealed perch. They usually have long tails for tight steering.

• Buzzards are medium-large raptors with robust bodies and broad wings, or, alternatively, any bird of the genus Buteo (also commonly known as "hawks" in North America, while "buzzard" is colloquially used for vultures).

• Harriers are large, slender hawk-like birds with long tails and long thin legs. Most use a combination of keen eyesight and hearing to hunt small vertebrates, gliding on their long broad wings and circling low over grasslands and marshes.

• Kites have long wings and relatively weak legs. They spend much of their time soaring. They will take live vertebrate prey, but mostly feed on insects or even carrion.

• The osprey, a single species found worldwide that specializes in catching fish and builds large stick nests.

• Owls are variable-sized, typically night-specialized hunting birds. They fly almost silently due to their special feather structure that reduces turbulence. They have particularly acute hearing and nocturnal eyesight.

• The secretarybird is a single species with a large body and long, stilted legs endemic to the open grasslands of Sub-Saharan Africa.

• Vultures are scavengers and carrion-eating raptors of two distinct biological families: the Old World vultures (Accipitridae), which occurs only in the Eastern Hemisphere; and the New World vultures (Cathartidae), which occurs only in the Western Hemisphere. Members of both groups have heads either partly or fully devoid of feathers.

• Seriemas, large South American birds with long, stilted legs that occupy a similar ecological niche to secretarybirds. They are also the closest relatives to the extinct "terror birds".

Many of these English language group names originally referred to particular species encountered in Britain. As English-speaking people travelled further, the familiar names were applied to new birds with similar characteristics. Names that have generalised this way include: kite (Milvus milvus), sparrow-hawk or sparhawk (Accipiter nisus), goshawk (Accipiter gentilis), kestrel (Falco tinninculus), hobby (Falco subbuteo), harrier (simplified from "hen-harrier", Circus cyaneus), buzzard (Buteo buteo).

The below galleries represent my collection of raptors from all families that I have documented throughout the years. Follow the linked images to the galleries for each species or genus.