### animal | vertebrate | bird:

Raptor
* All raptors are carnivorous and eat only meat
  - meat eaters, and most are skilled hunters
  - have excellent hearing, and owls have the sharpest hearing of all
* Learn what raptors are.
* Many raptors follow lake shores, mountain chains and ridges during migration
  - migrate seasonally to more favorable climates
  - use palms for perches while resting, looking for prey, or digesting their last meal
* Most raptors adapt to habitats.
* Most raptors are reluctant to cross large bodies of water
  - soaring birds, so they depend on thermals to obtain altitude
  - capture prey
  - consume jackrabbits
  - eat animals
  - feed on animals
* Most raptors have diets
  - legs
  - powerful legs
  - tongues
  - migrate over land
  - rotate heads
  - swoop down and grab their prey with sharp talons
* Most raptors use chemicals
  - their beak to rip off pieces of flesh from the body of their prey
* Some raptors are permanent residents which are used for education purposes.
* Some raptors cause nuisance problems
  - die of starvation
  - eat snakes
  - enter territory
  - fly over hillsides
  - grab mice
* Some raptors have concentration
  - imitate the sound or action of another animal for protection and concealment
  - lack capacity
  - love cities
* Some raptors nest in hollows and cavities or on ledges
  - steal food
* also have sharp beaks
  - prey on weak and unhealthy animals
* are also a treat to watch, especially in the fall
  - important environmental barometers
  - probable predators of thorny devils
  - among their likely predators
  - an essential part of healthy, functioning ecosystems
  - asynchronous egg-layers
  - birds of prey that are greatly beneficial in the control of rodents
* are birds of prey, like eagles, hawks and falcons
  - or birds that catch and kill live animals
  - that have sharp curved beaks and strong talons and keen eyesight
  - carnivores who feed on both endothermic and ectothermic vertebrates, as well as insects
  - common year-round
  - excellent hunters, with accute hearing and incredible vision
  - generally predators but some species make their living by scavenging
  - majestic, wild, beautiful and mysterious creatures
  - masters of the skies
  - members of a large group of birds called birds of prey
  - most abundant in the summer
  - often victims in encounters with people and their machines
  - patient birds with regular habits and routes of predation
  - predators of red howlers
  - predators, and the animals they hunt are prey
  - predatory birds that use their feet to capture their prey
  - present in the winter
  - quick, efficient predators
  - roller coasters
  - wild animals and stay wild animals even if they become permanent residents
* belong to a group of birds that includes hawks, eagles, falcons, and owls.
* build nests on ledges.
* catch prey.
* comb the air along the canyon rims.
* commonly prey on adults, and a variety of avian and mammalian predators prey on young.
* continue to play a critical role in the natural world, as they have always done.
  - small animals
* feed at the top of the food chain and are therefore important environmental indicators
* find an abundance of waterfowl, rodents or small birds on which to feed.
* form lasting pair bonds and are considered monogamous - which means they have one mate.
* gain lift inside a thermal without flapping and then glide to another thermal.
* get a different diet every two days.
* have a poorly developed ventriculus, which is needed for grinding
  - acute hearing and vision, which is estimated to be eight to ten times that of humans
  - claws
  - designs
  - distinctive bills for tearing and strong talons for holding and killing the prey
  - large, powerful feet with sharp curved talons, hooked upper beaks and sharp eyesight
* have powerful feet and claws, the weapons with which they strike and kill
  - several physical characteristics in common
  - specialized features for capturing and eating prey
  - the most developed hearing in the avian world
* help keep animal populations in balance
  - to prevent prey population explosions that can lead to habitat problems
* hunt a variety of prey, including rodents, birds, rabbits, snakes, and insects
  - over grasslands for the small mammals that also call that habitat home
* includes air sacs
  - bird's feet
  - brains
  - breasts
  - cell membranes
  - cells
  - chest cavities
  - chests
  - corpi
  - cytoplasm
  - ears
  - faces
  - flight feathers
  - lips
  - mouths
  - nuclei
  - plasma membranes
  - quill feathers
  - rib cages
  - second joints
  - sections
  - skulls
  - sterna
  - vacuoles
  - wishbones
* is hyperphosphorylated during mitosis.
* like to hide.
* live in diverse habitats.
* migrate from as far north as Greenland to as far south as Argentina.
* nest along some overhanging slopes
  - in environments
* obtain moisture from their food but often drink and bathe.
* often choose areas with tall buildings, especially for nesting
  - contract trichomoniasis by eating infected pigeons and doves
  - defecate at a kill site
* only kill when they're hungry.
* play an important role in the ecosystem, but are often harmed by human activity
  - important roles in the environment
* possess excellent eyesight.
* prey on rodents and some insects.
* regurgitate non-digestible food, bones and fur, in the form of pellets.
* seem as unhappy as cats in rain.
* show a preference toward perches that provide protection from attack from above and behind.
* soar above the hills and canyon edges.
* sometimes seen include the sharp-shinned hawk and the golden eagle.
  - innovative chemicals
* use the floodplain in small numbers
  - mountain range as a major flyway
* use their hearing to listen for the calls of other birds
  - powerful, sharp talons to capture their prey and to defend themselves
  - updrafts created by winds hitting ridges and surging upward
* usually have excellent eyesight overall
  - three talons pointing forward and one talon pointing backward
  - kill only one bird per day
* vary as much behaviorally as they do in appearance
  - in size enormously