Birds of prey, otherwise known as raptors, by definition catch their food using their feet instead of their mouths like most other birds. They also have acute vision and hearing and powerful talons and beaks.
Birds of prey can be divided into a number of families including buzzards and hawks, falcons, vultures, kites, harriers, eagles, owls and osprey, and in the UK you can find examples from all of these groups except for vultures.
Most birds of prey are diurnal meaning they hunt during the day although some owls are nocturnal and hunt solely after dark. British birds of prey tend to feed on small mammals, reptiles, insects, fish, birds and molluscs while Old and New world vultures prefer to eat carrion.
Sparrowhaks will sometimes visit gardens, and peregrine falcons can be spotted in towns and cities, whereas it is more difficult to see owls who rarely conduct their activities during the day. Birds of prey can be difficult to tell apart, particularly when you can only catch a fleeting glimpse of them or see a distant silhouette in the sky.
Find out more about some of the most common British birds of prey including identifying features, nesting and feeding habits and take a listen to their calls.
Rare bird of prey with a long tail and long pointed wings with black tips. Males are grey, females are brown. Underparts are buff with black streaks. Dark cheek patches and small white eye crescents. Summer visitor that migrates to Africa for the winter and can be found on marshes and grassland in eastern England. Feeds on small birds, rabbits, voles, and shrews. Glides with tapered wingtips swept back.
Medium-sized, round-headed, upright owl with long ear-tufts which are raised when it is alarmed. Buff-brown with darker streaks and bars below. Wide facial disk with white V between the orange eyes, that becomes narrower when alert. Nocturnal and secretive and only likely to be seen during migration. Short, moaning hoot. Slow, wavering action in flight. Found in coniferous forests and willow thickets.
One of the UK’s less familiar birds of prey. Distinguished from the common buzzard by its heavily feathered legs and longer wings. Pale head and breast, dark belly, and brown upperparts darker towards the rump. Dark morph is mostly black with white streaks on the head. Hovers in the air over one spot for some time while looking for prey. Winter visitor found in coastal and open areas, moors, and farmland.
A distinctive countryside bird with a heart-shaped face. Black eyes and dark V over the bill. Narrow body is pale golden above and white below. Slightly jerky wingbeats and comes to a near hover before diving to catch small mammals. Shrill, shriek as well as hisses and squeals. Best to see them at dusk in open country on grassland, farmland, and marshes.
The bird of prey you’re most likely to see in your garden. Males are blue-grey above and pale below with reddish stripes. Females are browner with underparts striped grey. Adapted for hunting birds in confined spaces with short, fast chase, and slanting dive. Does not hover. Preys mainly on small birds. Females can catch birds up to the size of pigeons. Found in woodland, forests, parks, fields, moors, and marshes.
The most widespread bird of prey in the UK. Broad, rounded wings, with a short neck and tail. Dark brown to creamy white but usually mottled brown. Barred belly and pale necklace on the breast. Quick stiff wingbeats. Glides with wings hunched and soars with wing in a V. Displays with deep dives. Found all year round over wooded hillsides, heaths, and moors, or perched on roadside fences and posts. Sometimes sits in fields.
Large bird of prey that uses its wings to soar on air currents while looking for prey. Will occasionally chase other birds in flight. Dark brown plumage with golden-brown nape and buff band across the upperwing. The strong bill is blueish-grey with a yellow base, and the yellow legs and feet are heavily feathered. Heavy flight with deep wingbeats and short glides. Found in Scotland in mountains, moors, forests, and coastal cliffs.
Large bird of prey with broad wings and a long tail. Plumage is variable but adults are generally grey-brown with white underparts, and dark bands on the wings and tail. The eyes are yellow, and the bill has a black tip. Flies with elastic wingbeats, which are slightly raised when soaring and dropped when gliding. Found across the UK in forests, woodland, farmland, and parks. Nest sites are kept secret to protect them from egg collectors and disturbance.
Small upright falcon with pointed wings and long tail. Male has rufous upperparts and buff underparts with grey head and tail, and weak moustache. Female is ginger-brown with bars above and streaks below. A familiar sight hovering by roads. In flight tail opens to a fan and wingbeats are quick with high upstroke. Soars on flat, broad wings. Hunts by sight hovering before attacking from above. Found across the UK in open areas, farmland, heaths, and waste areas. Has adapted well to city centres.
The most persecuted bird in the UK, due to its impact on grouse moors. Small-head and long wings and tail. Males are pale grey with white belly and black wingtips, while females and juveniles are brown with a white rump, and long-barred tail. Glides low with deep wingbeats in search of food which includes meadow pipits and voles. Spring display includes acrobatic tumbling and deep undulations. Found on heather moorland, open grassland, and marshes. More widespread during winter when joined by migrants from Northern Europe.
Small, nocturnal owl with reddish-brown barred plumage, a large round head, and dark feathers around its face. Row of white spots across its shoulder. Northern birds are greyer. Quick wingbeats in flight with broad wingtips. Can be heard calling at night but seen rarely during the day. Look out for owl pellets near its roosting spots or smaller birds mobbing nearby. Found in woodland, parks, and gardens.
Small, aerial falcon with squat head, narrow wings and long tail. Dark grey above and white below, with rusty red thigh and vent. The head is white with a dark crown and moustache, and white neck patch. Elegant in flight, it accelerates with deep wingbeats into an upward stall as it catches insects. Scarce summer migrant found in southern and eastern England over open ground, heaths, farmland, and moors, around lakes and marshes.
Small, stocky, barrel-shaped owl with large broad head, and low rounded crown, and short legs, wings, and tail. Dark brown with white mottles above and pale with brown streaks below. Large yellow eyes with white eyebrows set in black rings. Often seen perched during the day on a branch, stump, or rock. Hunts mainly at dusk. Seen in old trees, parkland, farmland, and rocky areas.
Very large, long-winged bird of prey, that perches upright. Dark brown above and white below with darker breast band. White head with black band behind the eye. Strong, steady flight with relaxed wingbeats. Glides on angled wings. Swoops and dives onto water to catch fish. Seen near lakes, rivers, estuaries, and nearby forests. Rare summer visitor to Scotland and some areas of England and Wales.
Small falcon with chunky, square-shaped head. Male is slate-grey with orange below and white streaks, and grey tail with black band. White streak above the eye and weak moustache. Females are larger and browner with more spots on the upperwing. Flies with fast, low wingbeats and few glides. Approaches prey with fast, twisting chase. Seen on moors and bushy hillsides, and wetlands and coasts in winter.
The UK’s largest bird of prey, that lacks the poise of a golden eagle. Brown body with conspicuously pale head. White tail feathers and massive fingered wings. Feathered thighs and bare, yellow legs. Deep, powerful wingbeats with glides in between. Eats mostly fish, but also mammals, small birds, and carrion. Found mainly in Scotland on coastal cliffs and large lakes.
Large hunting hawk, with rounded tail and long wings, sometimes confused with sparrowhawk. Grey above, white below with dark bars, and white vent. Dark head with white stripe above the eye. Females are larger with browner underparts. Slow flight with headlong plunges. Deep, undulating display. Small numbers but increasing in woodland and nearby open areas.
Graceful bird of prey with a reddish-brown body, angled wings, and forked tail. Pale blue-grey head with yellow eyes. Saved from extinction by a successful reintroduction programme. Elegant flight with deep, flexible beats on curved wings, Soars on flat wings to great heights. Can be seen all year round in flocks over villages, wooded countryside, and forests, or feeding on the ground.
Buzzard sized harrier, that glides low with wings held in a V. Male is brown with pale head and pale grey wing and tail. Rump is robust. Female is dark brown with pale streaks on the breast, and cream-coloured head. Supple flaps between glides on raised wings, and soars up high. Striking display flight with food passes. Rare resident and migrant seen over marshes and coastal wetlands.
Heavy, broad-shouldered falcon. Males are blue-grey above and pinkish-white below with dark spots on the breast and barred flanks. Grey head with black moustache and white neck. Females are larger and duller grey and white with blunter wings. Direct, flight with deep wingbeats and few glides. Fast pursuit of prey, sometimes swooping from beneath. Found in coastal areas and inland including towns and cities.
Large, round-headed owl. Upright when perching, more sloping stance on the ground. Colour ranges from yellow to rufous and marbled above with pale belly. White facial disc with fan around the bill. Pale yellow eyes set in black. Ear tufts are rarely obvious. Often flies by day, lover over the ground with frequent glides. Found on moors, meadow, and grassland.
36 Responses
Have regular visitor all white head and body with brown wings and I have not seen a bird of prey this colour can anyone help identify please.
I have 2 baby budgies who have free flight in our living room. My small hopper windows are open just enough to let in fresh air but not enough for them to escape. Today at the window was an all brown definitely bird of prey as it had the hooked beak. I was too slow to catch a picture so looking at pictures I think it might have been a sparrow hawk. I live in Nottingham. It was beautiful
Yes; Nottingham used to be beautiful! :o)
This morning I saw a sparrow Hawk in our garden. I live in South Croydon.
Hi, help please.
Live in Somerset, just had a bird in our garden. Size of adult magpie, mainly all matt black with a very distinct brown throat ? Not seen one before, we do get sparrowhawks but didn’t recognise this bird. Defo looked a bird of prey. Any ideas, thanks.
I saw a large bird today, about the size of a barn owl but different shape. I slowed down the car to look at it. Long wings. All of it creamy white underneath apart from black wing tips about a quarter of the length of the wing. Not “fingers”. The land it was over was slightly marshy, flat pasture next to a river.
Any suggestions? Never seen one before.
Marsh harrier
Had a large bird perch in garden; about 20 ins long, brown back, creamy front and underside of tail, long (4-5 inch) yellow legs, hawk-like beak but difficult to be absolutely certain. Sadly camera battery flat so couldn’t photograph. Any ideas, please?
I live in Somerset a few hundred yards from the Bristol Channel.
On my garden fence this morning was a bird (kestrel size), mostly brown, but with red patch under it’s neck. It had a small beak. It looked like a small bird of prey its beak was slightly hooked, not pointy, and a flat tail.
Any ideas? I’ve googled it with no success.
Peregrine falcon maybe?
SPAROWHAK UNNSUCESSFULL ATEMPT AT SPARROWS ON FEEDER
SEVERAL RED KITES OVER WOODLAND TOP OF VILLAGE
ADDINGHAM WEST YORKS
Just seen patch of crows in ploughed field in centre was a large (Over double size of crows) Dark chocolate brown with yellow beak bird of prey tearing away at what looked like a rabbit. Anyone tell me what bird of prey it was?
Golden eagle you would think
Likely a common buzzard.
Travelling along the M4 a honey buzzard swoops across from a small wooded area approximately 20 metres height from the ground giving us an amazing display of his undercarriage plumage. A highlight of my year so far
Hawk spotted over local park in Seaham, Durham. Brown body black wing tips. Not sure exactly what it was but great to watch.
Just sat, open mouthed, and watched a Sparrowhawk demolish it’s food in our wee garden in Somerset. Guessing, from the few remaining feathers, that is was a young sparrow.
Red kite spotted over Modbury, Devon.
Red kites spotted over Dullingham
Spotted a pair of Red Kites hovering over Heworth Golf Club, Gateshead.
Just witnessed two Seagulls very high above a field in Brigg, Lincolnshire, making an amazingly loud noise, encircling and driving away a very large reddish brown bird, believe it could be a Red Kite or Buzzard, but does not fit the description of any seen on here. Anyone know what this could be? Saw it last year too, same area.
Hello,
I came across a bird of prey today scratching at the mud to pick out worms. I cannot find it on any UK birds of prey websites – if you reply to my email May I send you an image for clarification?
having seen this website i can now i.d. the bird of prey that keeps coming into my garden . its a sparrow hawk
I feed the birds and have alot of sparrows and starlings a pair of black birds , one robin and doves .
However i saw Sparrowhawk munching on something which had a few grey feathers . I dont know if it was a dove . Would they be able to attack something like that ?
i live in a village near centre of a town and the fields are approx 1 mile away . In all 22 yrs i lived here never seen anything like him before .
I was just viewing this page and the comments and thought I’d answer this. Sparrowhawks will prey on pigeons (and I would guess doves too) and I’ve seen this happen in a back garden at least twice. Although these back gardens were in South West Cambridgeshire villages not close to a town, I’d guess you saw a Sparrowhawk on a pigeon or dove.
We’ve had a sparrow hawk in our garden a couple of times now. First time it was sitting near our hedge eating a pigeon, second time it swooped onto a pigeon in flight, brought it down right outside our patio doors to kill & eat it.
So yes, a dove or pigeon is possible
Sparrow hawks catch the collared doves in our garden
I’ve seen a sparrow hawk kill a pigeon. It took some time and wasn’t pretty but I can confirm they can overcome such large birds
In a local Birmingham park recently December 2021.
I was feeding crows there, but lots of land gulls and magpies too.
I moved on and heard a screaming of magpies and crows. A large bird of prey had pounced on one of the flock. It was a sort of brown colour with some white markings, i couldn’t see it to clearly due to the distance from the attack. The bird of prey flew into a nearby coppice with its kill. It was a quite large bird. Any ideas of what bird of prey it would of been please. Thanks.
Very handy guide thank you and lovely pictures too.
We have lots of red kites where I live (Bucks). Shame some of the neighbours aren’t that happy with them :(. But I love to see them circling over head. Would like to see a golden eagle but still not travelling for the time being so that will have to wait.
Yesterday I saw a large bird sitting on a fence post. He had a white breast black tail brown back. He was to far away to see properly but I’d love to know what he was. He sat for a long time then swooped down. Not much to go on. Any ideas what he is would be gratefully received.
I keep seeing a falcon fly over my back garden and I really don’t know what it is. Its roughly the same size as a female peregrine but does not look the same. It has a light grey underbelly with a dark long tail and no barring that I can see. I live in a built up urban area. We do have peregrines, owls, kestrels and a sparrow hawk that are sighted quite often but this bird is so different to anything I’ve ever seen. Ive tried to look at different species but nothing looks like it. It flies quite low and easy to see its a falcon of some description. It doesn’t have dark wing tips either. Has anyone got any ideas?
I saw a large bird of prey in Hogwood, West Sussex. It was brown all over with a yellow beak. No v in the tail. Assuming some kind of buzzard but your pictures don’t match?
Thank you
Would that have been an osprey I saw over boorely wood Hampshire
We have two unidentified raptors in the field across the way from us, they have white breasts with a brownish mottled collar around the neck, white cheeks and slate greyish backs. Largish and swoop down from the tree branches on to its prey.
Maybe you could help to identify them from the description.
They’ve done the ID description for you here mate lol
I have a black bird of prey with very white rump . It flies low and constantly attack by jackdoors