The marsh hawk, turkey vulture, and osprey are three Alberta raptors that do not fit into these groups. Only the falcon and accipiter hawks are presented here. The buteos, eagles, marsh hawk, turkey vulture and osprey are treated in a separate web page, Large Hawks and Eagles. All raptors have strong, hooked beaks for tearing flesh, and strong feet and talons for grasping and holding prey. In most species, females are larger than males.
Raptors possess excellent eyesight.
The sharpness of vision of some species is estimated to be about 8 times greater than that of people. Thus, raptors are able to detect small movements on the ground from great heights.