9/2/2023 0 Comments Prey birds list![]() ![]() Seen from above, both males and females have dark brown outer wings, compared with the lighter browns of their inner-wings and backs. Look out too for a prominent black band at the end of the male’s tail. Males have a blue-grey head and tail with a brown back. The bigger females are mainly brown with black bars on their backs and inner wings. They can also see ultraviolet light, enabling them to track the urine trails of rodents and so pinpoint their favourite food. A word of caution: buzzards are capable of hovering too, but they will be much larger, with slower wingbeats. Generally, if it’s hovering, it’s a kestrel! Roughly magpie-sized with a fan-shaped tail, kestrels are the birds you see hovering fantastically, pointed wings outstretched and head firmly focused on its prey below. Both have piercing yellow or orange eyes – unlike kestrels. Males have a bluish-grey back and wings, and orangey-brown bars on their chest and belly. Like buzzards, they will also use thermals to gain height, but their smaller size, shorter wings and longer tails mark them out as sparrowhawks.įemales are bigger than males, roughly pigeon-sized, with brown feathers on top, and brown and white bars on their belly. When not hunting, these birds often fly with a ‘flap-flap-glide’ rhythm. They’re fast flyers, experts at catching sparrows, tits and finches by swooping down to attack or cunningly catching them mid-flight. These are the raptors that you are most likely to see in your garden, opportunistically preying on the birds on your feeder. They are less vocal than buzzards though, tending only to call when in flocks.įor one of our smallest birds of prey, sparrowhawks pack a mighty punch. Red kites too have a soft mewing call and somewhat of a wail when closer to the nest. Its head, undertail and part of the wing is a silvery-white, while the rest of the body a mixture of red and brownish plumage. The lower a red kite flies the better chance you have of seeing the rich red colourings, which give this bird its name. ![]() Then marvel as it pivots and turns its tail like a rudder, navigating the skies. ![]() Look for a forked tail to confirm it’s a kite you’re seeing. Red kites are bigger still, with a wingspan of around 1.5 metres. You may even see buzzards walking about in fields, hunting for invertebrates such as worms, grubs and beetles. Buzzards are often on the lookout for carrion as well as live prey, and will scan from the air or from a perch. You may also see them on tree stumps or posts, large and hulking. All, however, have dark wingtips and a finely barred tail. Buzzards are variable in colour, from all dark brown to much paler variations. Listen for its rather meek call – a cat-like mewing that belies this big bird’s power. Large and bulky, you’ll often see buzzards soaring on the thermals on a hot summer’s day. ![]()
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