"KILLER" FACTS ABOUT RAPTORS

Raptors (birds of prey) are deadly hunters: incredible vision allows them to stalk their prey from extreme distances during night or day; their sharp, hooked beaks are designed for ripping flesh; their powerful clawed feet (talons) pierce their preys' internal organs. With "killer" talents like these, it's easy to see how these birds have been idolized and feared throughout the ages.

Did You Know?

• Eagle talons can strike with twice the force of a rifle bullet!
• In their hunting "dive" or "swoop," a Peregrine Falcon reaches speeds in excess of 200 miles per hour!
• The vision of the American Kestral (a small falcon) is eight times as acute as humans?
• Barn owls have better hearing than any other animal on Earth? It is said they can hear a human heart beating!
• Pound for pound, an eagle wing is stronger than the wing of an airplane.
• Owls have no teeth so they must swallow their prey whole ( or large chunks) – feathers, fur, bones and all. After 12 hours, the owl coughs up a small, football-shaped pellet of the indigestible matter.
• An eagle has more than 7,000 feathers -- but they only weigh a total of one and half pounds!
• Large owls eat up to 10% of their weight each day! Small owls require much more, consuming up to 25% of their weight daily.
• It is against the law to possess even one raptor feather without a permit from the U.S. government. The 1940 Bald Eagle Protection Act and the 1972 Migratory Bird Treaty Act both make it illegal to possess living or dead native birds (or their nests, eggs or parts) without heavy fines or imprisonment.
• There are approximately 450 species of raptors worldwide and more than 50 right here in the U.S.
• The word raptor comes from the Latin word raptare which means to "seize and carry away." Raptors refer to owls, eagles, hawks, falcons and vultures.