Raptors are meat eaters who use their powerful feet and razor sharp talons to capture prey. Raptors hunt from the wing or a high perch, and use their keen vision & other senses to find vertebrates and rodents. Birds of prey have hooked beaks that are made for tearing flesh. With their powerful feet and razor sharp talons, raptors are capable of capturing and killing much larger birds. There are 18 different species of owls and 30 species of hawks, eagles and falcons in North America. Loss of habitat and poisoning from industrial pesticides are the main threats to birds of prey. There are nine raptors - which represent 19% of all North American birds of prey - on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's list of birds of conservation concern.
