Birds of Prey
Even though they are not closely related, I have included hawks, harriers, vultures,
and owls in this category.
They are all birds of prey (raptors) and Kaufman includes them in his book
"Field Guide to Birds of North American".
Eagles and allies
Eagles and Osprey have long, wide, rounded wings for soaring.
Bald Eagle
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Golden Eagle
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Osprey
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Kites
North American kites are not closely related.
They do hover.
White-tailed Kite
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Accipiters
Accipiters have short broad wings and long tails
which gives them movability.
They primarily catch/eat other birds.
Cooper's Hawk
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Sharp-shinned Hawk
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Northern Goshawk
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Buteo and Buteo-like Hawks
Buteos and buteo-like birds have long, wide, rounded wings.
This give them the ability to soar.
Red-shouldered Hawk
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Broad-winged Hawk
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Short-tailed Hawk
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Red-tailed Hawk
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Swainson's Hawk
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Harris's Hawk
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Harriers
Harriers facial discs help them focus the sounds of rodents.
Females are larger than the males and have different coloration than
the males.
Northern Harrier
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Caracaras and Falcons
Falcons have thin tapered wings which enable them to
fly fast and change direction quickly.
Caracaras are members of the falcon family, but are more
like vultures.
Crested Caracara
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Merlin
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American Kestrel
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Prairie Falcon
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Peregrine Falcon
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New World Vultures
Vultures feed mostly on the carcasses of dead animals.
Most vultures do not have feathers on their head which helps
keep them clean during feeding.
Black Vulture
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Turkey Vulture
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Owls
Owls are mostly nocturnal predators.
They apparently lack color vision and see shades of gray.
They cannot move their eyes but they can move their heads halfway around.
To help them locate prey,
some owls (nocturnal ones) have their
ear canals at different levels.
This allows them to determine the position of a sound better.
Barn Owl
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Barred Owl
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Burrowing Owl
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Great Horned Owl
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Northern Saw-whet Owl
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Pueo - Hawaiian Owl
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Short-eared Owl
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Snowy Owl
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Western Screech Owl
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