ID Chart – Guide To British Birds Of Prey

Birds of prey can be highly variable, and in practice, your view of the bird may be fleeting. It can be difficult to make a positive identification of a distant bird flying at height against bright white clouds. But, in the UK at least, by looking at pictures side-by-side you can generally narrow down the choice to two or three species. 

Produced in conjunction with the Hawk and Owl Trust, this chart will help you to identify birds of prey in flight in the UK. Colour images of perched and flying birds show all 15 of the species of day-flying birds of prey which breed in the UK. Information on the habitat and range, size, status and flight pattern of each species is given in the text. To help confirm your identification, we have included particular hints for each species as well as highlighting the main areas of confusion.