--- title: "Birds of Prey (Accipitriformes, Falconiformes & Strigiformes) | Evolutionary Clade | AnimalTracks.wiki" description: "Apex avian hunters with telescopic zoom vision, curved meat-shearing talons, and silent flight. Explore 15 species in the Birds of Prey evolutionary lineage." image: "https://animaltracks.wiki/icon-512.png" --- # Birds of Prey (*Accipitriformes, Falconiformes & Strigiformes*) > Apex avian hunters with telescopic zoom vision, curved meat-shearing talons, and silent flight. Birds of prey dominate the airspace as apex carnivores. Armed with sharp decurved beaks, crushing talons, and eyes equipped with up to one million photoreceptors per square millimeter, they spot, dive on, and subdue agile terrestrial and airborne prey. ## Key Evolutionary Adaptations - Peregrine falcons exceed 380 km/h in terminal hunting dives, assisted by specialized nostril baffles that regulate air pressure. - Owl flight feathers feature fringed serrations on leading edges that muffle airflow turbulence for silent acoustic ambushes. - Harpy eagle rear talons reach 13 centimeters, longer than a grizzly bear's claws, and the San Diego Zoo says they can exert several hundred pounds of pressure. ## Member Species (15 Creatures) - [Bald Eagle](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/bald-eagle/) (*Haliaeetus leucocephalus*) - **Superpower**: A talon grip ten times as strong as an average human's, with spiny toe scales and rough foot pads that help it hold slippery fish. - **Musical Match**: Tom Petty (Classic Hard Rock & Southern Blues) - [Barn Owl](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/barn-owl/) (*Tyto alba*) - **Superpower**: In tests, it found prey in total darkness by sound alone with an error of under one degree. Its two external ears are asymmetric, and a flap of skin in front of each ear opening can redirect where that ear is most sensitive. - **Musical Match**: Grouper (Glacial Ambient & Drone Soundscapes) - [Bearded Vulture](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/bearded-vulture/) (*Gypaetus barbatus*) - **Superpower**: A stomach whose pH could be below 1, and dropping bones from the sky to break them open for the marrow inside - **Musical Match**: Nightwish (Symphonic Metal & Gothic Power) - [Golden Eagle](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/golden-eagle/) (*Aquila chrysaetos*) - **Superpower**: A dive of up to 120 mph (193 km/h) and a hunting style that often has one eagle drive prey toward its waiting partner. - **Musical Match**: Boards of Canada (IDM & Glitch Ambient Synthesis) - [Great Horned Owl](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/great-horned-owl/) (*Bubo virginianus*) - **Superpower**: Talons that take a force of 13 kg to open, strong enough to sever the spinal column of prey larger than itself. - **Musical Match**: Julee Cruise (Dream Pop & Shoegaze) - [Harpy Eagle](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/harpy-eagle/) (*Harpia harpyja*) - **Superpower**: Rear talons about five inches long, larger than a grizzly bear's claws, that the San Diego Zoo says can exert several hundred pounds of pressure, crushing bones and killing prey instantly. - **Musical Match**: Soundgarden (90s Grunge & Heavy Alt-Rock) - [Harris's Hawk](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/harris-hawk/) (*Parabuteo unicinctus*) - **Superpower**: Cooperative pack-hunting tactics and the highest colour-vision resolution measured in any animal to date - **Musical Match**: Television (Art Punk & Experimental Post-Punk) - [Osprey](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/osprey/) (*Pandion haliaetus*) - **Superpower**: A reversible outer toe and spiny footpads for gripping slippery fish - **Musical Match**: Slint (Post-Rock & Cinematic Orchestral) - [Peregrine Falcon](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/peregrine-falcon/) (*Falco peregrinus*) - **Superpower**: A stoop dive topping 320 km/h (200 mph), steered by the same proportional-navigation math used in guided missiles - **Musical Match**: Antonio Vivaldi (Neo-Classical & Baroque Chamber) - [Red Kite](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/red-kite/) (*Milvus milvus*) - **Superpower**: A deeply forked tail it keeps angling to steer while soaring, barely moving its wings. - **Musical Match**: Super Furry Animals (Psychedelic Rock & Neo-Psych) - [Red-Tailed Hawk](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/red-tailed-hawk/) (*Buteo jamaicensis*) - **Superpower**: Sees ultraviolet colours humans cannot - **Musical Match**: Yeah Yeah Yeahs (Art Punk & Experimental Post-Punk) - [Secretarybird](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/secretarybird/) (*Sagittarius serpentarius*) - **Superpower**: Stomping kicks: one captive male's peak force averaged five times his body weight, his foot on the snake for about 15 milliseconds a strike. - **Musical Match**: Rodrigo y Gabriela (Latin Psychedelic Cumbia & Flamenco) - [Snowy Owl](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/snowy-owl/) (*Bubo scandiacus*) - **Superpower**: Usually watches for prey from a perch, then swoops down in a "wallop" to snatch it with strong talons. - **Musical Match**: Slowdive (Dream Pop & Shoegaze) - [Tawny Owl](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/tawny-owl/) (*Strix aluco*) - **Superpower**: Asymmetrical ear openings that let it locate a sound from the tiny difference in when it reaches each ear. - **Musical Match**: Portishead (Trip-Hop & Velvet Downtempo) - [Turkey Vulture](https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/turkey-vulture/) (*Cathartes aura*) - **Superpower**: Finds carrion by smell, even beneath forest canopy - **Musical Match**: Modest Mouse (Indie Rock & Jangle Pop) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "CollectionPage", "@id": "https://animaltracks.wiki/clades/raptors/#collection", "name": "Birds of Prey (Accipitriformes, Falconiformes & Strigiformes)", "description": "Apex avian hunters with telescopic zoom vision, curved meat-shearing talons, and silent flight.", "url": "https://animaltracks.wiki/clades/raptors/", "mainEntity": { "@type": "ItemList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Bald Eagle", "url": "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/bald-eagle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Barn Owl", "url": "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/barn-owl/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Bearded Vulture", "url": "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/bearded-vulture/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Golden Eagle", "url": "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/golden-eagle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 5, "name": "Great Horned Owl", "url": "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/great-horned-owl/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 6, "name": "Harpy Eagle", "url": "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/harpy-eagle/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 7, "name": "Harris's Hawk", "url": "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/harris-hawk/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 8, "name": "Osprey", "url": "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/osprey/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 9, "name": "Peregrine Falcon", "url": "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/peregrine-falcon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 10, "name": "Red Kite", "url": "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/red-kite/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 11, "name": "Red-Tailed Hawk", "url": "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/red-tailed-hawk/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 12, "name": "Secretarybird", "url": "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/secretarybird/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 13, "name": "Snowy Owl", "url": "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/snowy-owl/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 14, "name": "Tawny Owl", "url": "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/tawny-owl/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 15, "name": "Turkey Vulture", "url": "https://animaltracks.wiki/animals/turkey-vulture/" } ] } } ] } ```