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Aren't birds of prey brilliant
Birds of prey have had very mixed fortunes over the years. For example, during the Middle Ages, red kites were highly valued: as scavengers, they helped to clear the streets of London and other towns of carrion and waste. Their contribution was considered so vital that they were granted protection by royal decree.
However, attitudes towards red kites and other birds of prey changed in the 16th century, when a series of laws encouraged people to kill them as vermin. It wasn't until 1954 that new laws were passed to make it illegal to kill birds of prey.
Although there are a number of successful reintroduction schemes for red kites and white-tailed eagles, and the spectacular sight of sparrowhawks, buzzards and kestrels is less rare, there is still much to be done to return these amazing birds to their rightful places within the UK.
Read on to find out more about our ten top birds of prey. Download and print (double-sided) our fun arts and crafts activities to do at home, or take into school and get your teacher to do a lesson on how brilliant our birds of prey are.
Want to see brilliant birds for yourself? Join us at one of our Date with nature projects across the UK for your chance to see birds of prey in action.
Last modified: 01 July 2008
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Now the commonest and most widespread UK bird of prey. It is quite large with broad, rounded wings, and a short neck and tail. When gliding and soaring it will often hold its wings in a shallow 'V' an... More... |
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Of the UK's birds of prey, this is the most intensively persecuted. Once predating free-range fowl, earning its present name, its effect on the number of grouse available to shoot is the cause of mode... More... |
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A familiar sight with its pointed wings and long tail, hovering beside a roadside verge. Numbers of kestrels declined in the 1970s, probably as a result of changes in farming and so it is included on ... More... |
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Seen in flight from below the osprey has white or slightly mottled underparts. The long wings are angled, bending at the 'wrist' which has a black patch contrasting with the white wing linings, and at... More... |
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The peregrine is a large and powerful falcon. It has long, broad, pointed wings and a relatively short tail. It is blue-grey above, with a blackish top of the head and an obvious black 'moustache' tha... More... |
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This magnificently graceful bird of prey is unmistakable with its reddish-brown body, angled wings and deeply forked tail. It was saved from national extinction by one of the world's longest running p... More... |
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Sparrowhawks are small birds of prey. They're adapted for hunting birds in confined spaces like dense woodland, so gardens are ideal hunting grounds for them.
Adult male sparrowhawks have bluish-gre... More... |
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The white-tailed eagle is the largest UK bird of prey. It has brown body plumage with a conspicuously pale head and neck which can be almost white in older birds, and the tail feathers of adults are w... More... |
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With heart-shaped face, buff back and wings and pure white underparts, the barn owl is a distinctive and much-loved countryside bird. Widely distributed across the UK, and indeed the world, this bird ... More... |
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Short-eared owls are medium sized owls with mottled brown bodies, pale under-wings and yellow eyes. They are commonly seen hunting during the day. In winter, there is an influx of continental birds (... More... |
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