Birds of Prey
 

 Hawks:

red-tailed hawk,

Cooper's hawk

northern harrier

rough-legged hawk

broad-winged hawk

red-shouldered hawk
 

  Owls:

barn owl

barred owl

eastern screech owl

great horned owl

long-eared owl

saw whet owl

short-eared owl

snowy owl
 

 Eagles:

bald eagle

golden eagle

  

 Falcons:

peregrine falcon

American kestrel
The turkey vulture really isn't a bird of prey, but people often believe it is a hawk or an eagle when they see it soaring high above.

Vultures:

turkey vulture

Other Birds of Prey:

Osprey

  
Look! Up In The Sky! It's A Bird...It's.....
 
 Even at a distance or in poor light, there are clues available to help you identify the eagles, hawks, owls, vultures and falcons you might see in Illinois. Try to identify the owl silhouetted in the picture at left. Click here for the answer.
Photographs copyright: Chris Young and Jane Seitz, The Illinois Raptor Center. Others pictures are used courtesy of Dennis Oehmke, Kanae Hirabayashi or The State Journal-Register in Springfield. The primary reference for this guide is: The Birds of Illinois by H. David Bohlen, asst. curator zoology, the Illinois State Museum. It is used with the author's permission. Other sources will be noted in the text. 
Use of any material on this website is by permission only.
If your question wasn't answered here, email us: illinoisraptorcenter@comcast.net
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