View allAll Photos Tagged birdsofprey
To see these magnificent birds fly over our beach is a true thrill.
White-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla)
Ardmucknish Bay Argyll - Scotland
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This is one of the world’s most successful and abundant birds of prey. The Black Kite is a highly opportunistic raptor and has thrived by adapting to urban environments. They are primarily scavengers, feeding on carrion, insects, and food scraps. However, they are also capable hunters of small mammals and fish.
They are famous for "stealing" food mid-air from other birds or even unsuspecting humans. We often see the flying over the highways and expressways looking for roadkill where they swoop quickly and fly away.
These are widely found across Africa, Europe, Asia, and Australia, their resilience stems from their "generalist" nature. While they migrate over vast distances, they are often present in vast numbers over city skylines.
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This osprey was trying to hunt for fish. Unfortunately for the bird and for us he didn't manage to catch one.
November 5, 2025, at ParaÃso Verde, Manizales, Caldas, Colombia.
The Broad-winged Hawk (Buteo platypterus) is a medium-sized buteo with a body size from 32 to 44 cm (13 to 17 in) in length. They spend the North American summer in the Eastern United States and in Canada as far west as BC. Once breeding season has completed, Broad-winged Hawks gather in large flocks and migrate south. However, upon arrival in the Andes of Colombia and Venezuela, they disperse, where they perch and forage individually from October to March. Broad-winged Hawks typically reside at elevations of around 2,000 meters; however, they occasionally soar to heights of up to 3,700 meters.
I must admit I thought this was something different as it few close to the ground then up in the tree it seemed so dark but I think its just another kestrel
A large raptor around 55-70 cms tall and weighing around 1.5 - 2.4 kg and found throughout the year in India. They are probably the smallest of the 9 species of vultures found in India. The birds are very distinctive and easily recognizable unlike some of the other vultures which are confusing to id.
This one is an adult with the full white plumage and yellowish face and beak. Immatures tend to be totally brown with a greyish face. The birds are often seen around carcass dumpyards or in the deserts where dead cattle / animals are lying rotten. In our Rajasthan trip last week, we sighted 100+ of them all around the state - they are quite common there. In fact, Rajasthan has 7 of the 9 vultures found in India. Like most vultures, this is quite shy of people, but many a time, we found very close to the nomad settlements perched on the poles or walking around on the ground.
Thanks in advance for your lovely feedback and views - much appreciated.
A large resident owl usually found around rocky places, ledges and rock quarries. These birds prefer these habitats and are often found sitting quietly on one of the ledges or on a tree nearby. The bird - around 50 - 60 cms is one of the larger owls in the country.
Like other large owls, they are usually found in pairs. But this time, just as the nesting season is coming to a season, there were 3 of them in the quarry. The 3rd one - a chick that is ready to fledge - maybe in a week at best. It wasn't moving around and stayed put in one place while the adults flew around. The area around had plenty of small birds like Larks that were food to these owls and I could see many parking on ledges around the place.
And there were dozen's of swallows that were quite unhappy with the Owl and were constantly dive bombing on it. The owl didn't care since they are no danger to it.
Thank you for your views, likes and feedback. Much appreciated.
Formidable apex predators of the sky and winter migrants to South Asia. These are large birds of prey with a range much of Europe and Asia. Almost 70 cm in height and around 2-2.5 kgs in weight, this is a large eagle. Like every other large eagles, this too is a sluggish hunter that tries to conserve its energy while hunting.
Shot this in the Nilgiri's forest (on a 4 day trip) - a large Mega reserve of Tigers, Elephants, Bears, Leopards, Hyenas and other animals. Its a thick forest and one that has plenty of reports of human / animal conflict. Walking around for birds is a scary challenge. We shot this bird near a dumpyard where there were several species of Eagles - around 20-25 of them and another 10-20 Kites. The light was great and the setting beautiful. But our guide was nervous about straying far away from the vehicle since it is a tiger area and tigers are frequently sighted there.
There were about 8-10 of these GSE's perched on trees for a long time in the morning fog before we saw some action. And they continued to sit still after this brief action. As the day became too hot and light was harsh, we moved on.
Many thanks in advance for your views, faves and feedback. Very much appreciated.
A resident kite of the country and quite common in our state. They dot the countryside and are often sighted perched on top of trees, wires and on posts in the fields hunting for small rodents and reptiles in the fields.
The birds tend to hover like a kestrel for 10-20 seconds after sighting a prey and slowly descend before diving to catch. The success rate is quite low from what I have seen, but they do hunt a lot and are quite active throughout the day. They are medium size around 35 cms long and are easily recognizable due to distinctive colors and wing shapes.
Sighted this bird on a tall perch when a female flew in and pushed this bird away. And this male took a wide turn and landed on top the female for a brief mating session. It lasted less than a minute and the male flew away again to a distant tree.
Thank you so much in advance for your views, feedback and faves - very much appreciated.
This Wild Great Gray Owl launches to a better perch to listen for movement in the field to catch a meal - and this time, it was worth the fuss, it was successful.
Also known as Little Banded Goshawk, this is a medium sized ferocious raptor that attacks smaller birds in their nests and deep inside canopy. This raptor is very patient and will wait for the right moment to strike. Often they attack the chicks in the nests, or even the parents. The birds are common in the countryside and seen a lot, but hard to get a decent shot.
On this day, I sighted this bird waiting on a roadside bush early morning. It was trying to catch a sunbird I think, but was not successful. And shortly afterwards, it flew to a tree to the left of this wall and tried to catch an Iora, but was not successful either. The Common Iora took off deeper into the tree before the Shikra could get it. It tried a few tactics to get the Iora out, but wasn't successful and the Iora disappeared from view. The Shikra then landed on this wall probably to figure where else to hunt when we took the shot.
Thanks in advance for your views and feedback Much appreciated.