[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":277},["ShallowReactive",2],{"families_en:\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fyastrebinye":3,"alt-locale:families_en:\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fyastrebinye":132,"section-listing:families_en:\u002Fsemeystva":133,"section-listing:disabled":270,"related-covers:en:\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsokolinye|\u002Fsemeystva|\u002Fopredelitel":271},{"id":4,"title":5,"body":6,"coverImage":92,"description":93,"extension":94,"faq":95,"imagePrompt":105,"latinName":20,"meta":106,"navigation":107,"order":108,"pageType":109,"path":110,"publishedAt":111,"readingMinutes":112,"relatedLinks":113,"seo":126,"sitemap":129,"stem":130,"taxonRank":109,"updatedAt":108,"__hash__":131},"families_en\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fyastrebinye.md","Hawks, Eagles, and Kites (Accipitridae)",{"type":7,"value":8,"toc":84},"minimark",[9,14,22,25,29,32,35,39,77,81],[10,11,13],"h2",{"id":12},"what-makes-accipitridae-a-family","What makes Accipitridae a family",[15,16,17,21],"p",{},[18,19,20],"strong",{},"Accipitridae"," is the largest family of diurnal birds of prey in the world, with well over 200 species spanning buzzards, hawks, eagles, kites, harriers, and Old World vultures. What unites such a visually and behaviorally diverse group is shared ancestry rather than a single body plan: every member has a strongly hooked beak for tearing flesh, powerful feet armed with sharp curved talons for seizing and killing prey, and broadly similar skeletal proportions, even though wing shape, size, and hunting style vary enormously between genera.",[15,23,24],{},"Unlike falcons, which typically kill with a precise bite to the neck using a notched beak, Accipitridae species generally kill by crushing or piercing prey with their talons, using the beak mainly to tear food apart once it is subdued. This difference in hunting mechanics reflects a deeper evolutionary split: genetic studies confirm that hawks and eagles are not close relatives of falcons at all, despite a long history of both being lumped together informally as \"birds of prey.\"",[10,26,28],{"id":27},"distinctive-traits-across-a-diverse-group","Distinctive traits across a diverse group",[15,30,31],{},"Within Accipitridae, wing shape closely tracks hunting habitat and strategy. Open-country soarers like the common buzzard have broad, rounded wings suited to riding thermal updrafts with minimal effort. Forest specialists like the northern goshawk have short, rounded wings and long tails built for tight, explosive maneuvering between trees. Large fish- and carrion-eating species like the white-tailed eagle have some of the broadest wingspans of any bird, built for slow, powerful flight while carrying heavy prey or scanning wide territories. Kites, such as the black kite, combine long, angled wings with a distinctive forked or notched tail for exceptional in-flight agility while scavenging.",[15,33,34],{},"Nesting habits also vary: most Accipitridae species build large stick nests in trees or on cliffs, often reused and enlarged across many years, in clear contrast to the falcon family's habit of using existing cavities without building anything at all.",[10,36,38],{"id":37},"species-in-this-family","Species in this family",[15,40,41,42,47,48,52,53,47,57,60,61,47,65,68,69,47,73,76],{},"This atlas currently covers four members of Accipitridae in detail: the ",[43,44,46],"a",{"href":45},"\u002Fen\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fvidy\u002Fkanyuk-obyknovenny","common buzzard"," (",[49,50,51],"em",{},"Buteo buteo","), the most widespread bird of prey across Europe and western Russia; the ",[43,54,56],{"href":55},"\u002Fen\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fvidy\u002Fyastreb-teterevyatnik","northern goshawk",[49,58,59],{},"Accipiter gentilis","), a powerful and secretive forest hunter; the ",[43,62,64],{"href":63},"\u002Fen\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fvidy\u002Forlan-belokhvost","white-tailed eagle",[49,66,67],{},"Haliaeetus albicilla","), Europe's largest eagle and a specialist of coasts and large lakes; and the ",[43,70,72],{"href":71},"\u002Fen\u002Fvidy-ptic\u002Fvidy\u002Fcherny-korshun","black kite",[49,74,75],{},"Milvus migrans","), one of the most abundant and adaptable raptors on Earth. Further Accipitridae species, including harriers and additional eagles native to the atlas's covered regions, will be added to the catalogue over time.",[10,78,80],{"id":79},"where-and-when-to-watch-this-family","Where and when to watch this family",[15,82,83],{},"Because Accipitridae spans so many habitats — open farmland, dense forest, wetlands, and coastlines — members of this family can turn up almost anywhere across the atlas's covered regions. Broad-winged soaring species like the buzzard and eagle are easiest to spot on clear, sunny days when rising thermals allow prolonged effortless flight, while forest specialists like the goshawk are far more often heard or glimpsed briefly than seen at length. Spring and autumn migration periods bring an added chance to see resident and passage species together, particularly at natural migration corridors such as river valleys, coastlines, and mountain passes.",{"title":85,"searchDepth":86,"depth":86,"links":87},"",2,[88,89,90,91],{"id":12,"depth":86,"text":13},{"id":27,"depth":86,"text":28},{"id":37,"depth":86,"text":38},{"id":79,"depth":86,"text":80},"\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fyastrebinye.png","The largest family of diurnal birds of prey, spanning soaring buzzards, forest-hunting goshawks, massive fish eagles, and scavenging kites united by a hooked beak and taloned feet.","md",[96,99,102],{"q":97,"a":98},"Why do buzzards, goshawks, eagles, and kites all belong to the same family if they look and hunt so differently?","Accipitridae is defined by shared ancestry and underlying anatomy rather than a single hunting style: a hooked beak for tearing flesh, strong taloned feet for gripping prey, and a broadly similar skeletal structure. Within that shared framework, different genera have evolved very different wing shapes and hunting strategies — broad soaring wings in buzzards, short maneuverable wings in goshawks, huge wings for sustained flight in eagles — suited to their particular habitat and prey.",{"q":100,"a":101},"How is Accipitridae different from the falcon family, Falconidae?","Despite superficial similarities as diurnal birds of prey, the two families are not closely related — genetic studies place falcons closer to parrots and songbirds than to hawks and eagles. Accipitridae species kill prey primarily by crushing with their feet, while falcons typically use a notched beak to sever the spinal cord, and the two families differ in nest-building habits, flight style, and skeletal anatomy.",{"q":103,"a":104},"Is this the largest family of birds of prey?","Yes. Accipitridae is by far the largest family of diurnal raptors, with well over 200 species worldwide including buzzards, hawks, eagles, kites, harriers, and Old World vultures, occupying nearly every terrestrial habitat on Earth except the polar ice caps.","Photorealistic wildlife photography, a wide landscape composition showing a common buzzard soaring on broad wings high above a river valley while a white-tailed eagle perches on a dead tree snag near the water below, contrasting silhouettes of the two related raptors, mixed forest and wetland habitat with a wide slow river, soft-focus midground haze, warm late-afternoon light from camera-right, shallow depth of field, telephoto lens compression, 16:9",{},true,null,"family","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fyastrebinye","13.07.2026",1,[114,118,122],{"label":115,"path":116,"description":117},"Falcons (Falconidae)","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsokolinye","A superficially similar but unrelated family of birds of prey",{"label":119,"path":120,"description":121},"Bird families","\u002Fsemeystva","Species grouped by taxonomic family",{"label":123,"path":124,"description":125},"Bird identifier","\u002Fopredelitel","Identify a bird you've seen by color, size, beak shape, habitat, and season",{"title":127,"description":128},"Hawks, Eagles, and Kites (Accipitridae) — traits and species","Accipitridae: the largest family of diurnal birds of prey, from soaring buzzards to forest goshawks and massive fish eagles. Traits, species, and where to find them.",{"loc":110},"semeystva\u002Fyastrebinye","cUp5mbJdLIlCiwz1NRKnbLxh4RJO18GPhCmAZGr6L7c",{"ru":107,"es":107},[134,139,144,149,152,157,163,168,169,174,179,184,189,194,199,204,209,215,220,225,230,235,240,245,250,255,260,265],{"title":135,"description":136,"path":137,"coverImage":138,"publishedAt":111,"order":108},"Buntings (Emberizidae)","The bunting family: sturdy, seed-eating farmland and open-country songbirds represented here by the vividly yellow-headed yellowhammer, one of Europe's most familiar hedgerow singers.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fovsyankovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fovsyankovye.png",{"title":140,"description":141,"path":142,"coverImage":143,"publishedAt":111,"order":108},"Crows, Ravens, and Allies (Corvidae)","The crow family: some of the most intelligent birds on Earth, from the tiny, sociable jackdaw to the giant common raven, united by cognitive sophistication and remarkable behavioral flexibility.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvranovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvranovye.png",{"title":145,"description":146,"path":147,"coverImage":148,"publishedAt":111,"order":108},"Cuckoos (Cuculidae)","The cuckoo family: slender, long-tailed birds best known for the common cuckoo's remarkable brood-parasitic lifestyle, tricking other species into raising its young.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fkukushkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fkukushkovye.png",{"title":115,"description":150,"path":116,"coverImage":151,"publishedAt":111,"order":108},"The falcon family: fast, direct-flying birds of prey with a distinctive hooked, tomial-toothed beak, found on every continent except Antarctica.","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsokolinye.png",{"title":153,"description":154,"path":155,"coverImage":156,"publishedAt":111,"order":108},"Finches (Fringillidae)","The true finch family: small, seed-eating songbirds with conical beaks ranging from the everyday chaffinch to the specialized, cone-prying red crossbill.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvjurkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvjurkovye.png",{"title":158,"description":159,"path":160,"coverImage":161,"publishedAt":162,"order":108},"Grebes (Podicipedidae)","The grebe family: highly specialized freshwater diving birds with lobed toes, elaborate courtship displays, and chicks that ride on their parents' backs while swimming.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fpogankovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fpogankovye.png","07.08.2026",{"title":164,"description":165,"path":166,"coverImage":167,"publishedAt":111,"order":108},"Gulls (Laridae)","The gull family: adaptable, highly social waterbirds ranging from the small, brown-hooded black-headed gull to the larger, plain-billed common gull, equally at home on coasts and inland waters.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fchaykovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fchaykovye.png",{"title":5,"description":93,"path":110,"coverImage":92,"publishedAt":111,"order":108},{"title":170,"description":171,"path":172,"coverImage":173,"publishedAt":111,"order":108},"Herons (Ardeidae)","The heron family: patient, statuesque wetland hunters with a coiled S-shaped neck and dagger-like bill, epitomized by the grey heron's motionless watch at the water's edge.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Ftsaplevye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Ftsaplevye.png",{"title":175,"description":176,"path":177,"coverImage":178,"publishedAt":111,"order":108},"Hoopoes (Upupidae)","A small family built around a single unmistakable species, the Eurasian hoopoe, known for its fan-like crest, curved probing beak, and unusual glandular nest defenses.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fudodovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fudodovye.png",{"title":180,"description":181,"path":182,"coverImage":183,"publishedAt":111,"order":108},"Larks (Alaudidae)","The lark family: streaked, ground-nesting birds of open farmland and grassland, best known for the extraordinary sustained soaring song-flight of the Eurasian skylark.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fzhavoronkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fzhavoronkovye.png",{"title":185,"description":186,"path":187,"coverImage":188,"publishedAt":111,"order":108},"Old World Flycatchers and Chats (Muscicapidae)","A family spanning the beloved orange-breasted robin, the vocally legendary nightingale, and the acrobatic pied flycatcher, unified more by ancestry and insect-catching habits than by appearance.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fmuholovkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fmuholovkovye.png",{"title":190,"description":191,"path":192,"coverImage":193,"publishedAt":111,"order":108},"Old World Orioles (Oriolidae)","A family of brilliantly colored but famously shy canopy songbirds, represented in Europe by the golden oriole, a bird more often identified by its fluting song than by sight.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fivolgovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fivolgovye.png",{"title":195,"description":196,"path":197,"coverImage":198,"publishedAt":111,"order":108},"Old World Sparrows (Passeridae)","The Old World sparrow family: small, sociable, seed-eating birds closely tied to human settlement, from the familiar house sparrow to its quieter, farmland-favoring relative the tree sparrow.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvorobyinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fvorobyinye.png",{"title":200,"description":201,"path":202,"coverImage":203,"publishedAt":111,"order":108},"Pigeons and Doves (Columbidae)","The pigeon family: stout-bodied, small-headed birds fed on crop milk as chicks, spanning the city-adapted rock dove and wood pigeon to the increasingly rare, long-distance migrant turtle dove.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fgolubinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fgolubinye.png",{"title":205,"description":206,"path":207,"coverImage":208,"publishedAt":111,"order":108},"Plovers and Lapwings (Charadriidae)","The plover family: compact, large-eyed waders with short bills adapted for visual foraging, from the crested, iridescent northern lapwing to its smaller and plainer relatives.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Frzhankovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Frzhankovye.png",{"title":210,"description":211,"path":212,"coverImage":213,"publishedAt":214,"order":108},"Rails, Crakes, and Coots (Rallidae)","The rail family: laterally flattened marsh specialists built for slipping through dense reed beds, ranging from the secretive corncrake to the bold, aggressive Eurasian coot.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fpastushkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fpastushkovye.png","17.08.2026",{"title":216,"description":217,"path":218,"coverImage":219,"publishedAt":111,"order":108},"Starlings (Sturnidae)","The starling family: gregarious, iridescent, highly vocal songbirds represented in Europe by the common starling and its spectacular winter murmurations.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fskvorcovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fskvorcovye.png",{"title":221,"description":222,"path":223,"coverImage":224,"publishedAt":111,"order":108},"Storks (Ciconiidae)","The stork family: massive, long-legged wading birds with long straight bills, epitomized by the white stork's huge rooftop nests and dramatic overland migration to Africa.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Faistovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Faistovye.png",{"title":226,"description":227,"path":228,"coverImage":229,"publishedAt":111,"order":108},"Swallows and Martins (Hirundinidae)","The swallow family: sleek, long-winged aerial insect-hunters that spend most of their waking lives on the wing, from the red-throated barn swallow to the white-rumped house martin.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Flastochkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Flastochkovye.png",{"title":231,"description":232,"path":233,"coverImage":234,"publishedAt":111,"order":108},"Swifts (Apodidae)","The swift family: extreme aerial specialists that spend nearly their entire lives in flight, closer in ancestry to hummingbirds than to the swallows they superficially resemble.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fstrizhinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fstrizhinye.png",{"title":236,"description":237,"path":238,"coverImage":239,"publishedAt":111,"order":108},"Sylvia Warblers (Sylviidae)","A family of small, plainly plumaged, densely-vegetation-loving warblers prized far more for their voices than their looks, exemplified by the richly singing Eurasian blackcap.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fslavkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fslavkovye.png",{"title":241,"description":242,"path":243,"coverImage":244,"publishedAt":111,"order":108},"Thrushes (Turdidae)","The thrush family: medium-sized, powerful-singing ground foragers, from the glossy black common blackbird to the heavily spotted song thrush and the gregarious, flocking fieldfare.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fdrozdovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fdrozdovye.png",{"title":246,"description":247,"path":248,"coverImage":249,"publishedAt":111,"order":108},"Tits (Paridae)","The tit family: small, acrobatic, cavity-nesting songbirds from the bold, dominant great tit to the tiny, cache-obsessed coal tit, among the most familiar and intensively studied garden birds in Europe.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsinitsevye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsinitsevye.png",{"title":251,"description":252,"path":253,"coverImage":254,"publishedAt":111,"order":108},"Typical Owls (Strigidae)","The largest owl family, spanning the familiar tawny owl, tufted long-eared owl, and the giant Eurasian eagle-owl, united by forward-facing eyes, silent flight, and mostly nocturnal habits.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsovinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fsovinye.png",{"title":256,"description":257,"path":258,"coverImage":259,"publishedAt":111,"order":108},"Wagtails and Pipits (Motacillidae)","A family of slender, long-tailed, ground-foraging songbirds best exemplified by the constantly tail-bobbing white wagtail, equally at home beside a river or in a busy town square.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Ftryasoguzkovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Ftryasoguzkovye.png",{"title":261,"description":262,"path":263,"coverImage":264,"publishedAt":111,"order":108},"Waterfowl (Anatidae)","The waterfowl family: ducks, geese, and swans, unified by webbed feet, waterproof plumage, and a broad flattened bill, from the familiar mallard to the massive mute swan.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Futinye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Futinye.png",{"title":266,"description":267,"path":268,"coverImage":269,"publishedAt":111,"order":108},"Woodpeckers (Picidae)","The woodpecker family: powerful, tree-climbing excavators built to hammer into wood, from the widespread black-and-white great spotted woodpecker to the crow-sized black woodpecker.","\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fdyatlovye","\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Fdyatlovye.png",[],[272,273,275],{"label":115,"path":116,"description":117,"coverImage":151},{"label":119,"path":120,"description":121,"coverImage":274},"\u002Fimages\u002Fsemeystva\u002Findex.png",{"label":123,"path":124,"description":125,"coverImage":276},"\u002Fimages\u002Fopredelitel\u002Findex.png",1787114562565]