NATURE · HISTORICAL MARKER
Birds of Prey-Hunters in the Sky
Kent Narrows
· Eastern Neck National Wildlife Refuge
Nature
Raptors, or birds of prey, use keen eyes to spot prey from 3,000 feet away, then hunt with outspread wings, powerful feet, sharp talons, and hooked beaks. Adult raptors have few predators, and their adaptations allow them to hunt medium to large-sized animals, but although they can live 20-30 years, they breed slowly and many young birds die, so drops in adult survival greatly reduce a species' population. Osprey have a white underside and head, a dark back, and a dark brown stripe through yellow eyes; they eat only fish, hunt from above by diving into the water, and nest on platforms and tall trees around the refuge. American kestrels are small, about the size of a blue jay, with a reddish back and tail, black-and-white facial markings, blue-gray wings on males, and reddish wings on females; they hover while pursuing prey and feed on insects, small birds, and rodents. Northern harriers have a white rump, narrow tail, males that are gray, females that are streaked brown, and young with a red breast; they soar unsteadily over marshes with wings in a V-shape and hunt by ambush close to the ground. Red-tailed hawks have a rust-colored tail, white breast, striped belly, rounded wing tips, and a fan-shaped tail; they feed mainly on small rodents and hunt by soaring over open fields or by sitting in a tree. Vultures soar in circles with little wing beating and scavenge dead animal carcasses; turkey vultures, the most commonly seen, have a red head, while immature birds have black heads and legs, and black vultures have a black head and gray legs under a short tail.
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