European Birds of Prey Species

There are currently 40 birds of prey in Europe, which fall into 7 main categories:

• Falcons
• Eagles
• Hawks
• Buzzards
• Kites
• Harriers
• Vultures

Two European birds of prey, the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), and the European Honey Buzzard (Pernis apivorus), don’t really belong in any of the categories above, and are each classified as a separate genus within the family of Accipitridae.

However, for the sake of simplicity, we have included the Osprey with the eagles, and the European Honey Buzzard with the buzzards.

Now let’s take a closer look at all of the European raptors in these categories. Each bird in the list below is hyperlinked to a page with a detailed species description, in case you’re interested in learning more about that particular raptor.

Falcons

• Lanner Falcon
• Peregrine Falcon
• Eurasian Kestrel
• Barbary Falcon
• Eleonora’s Falcon
• Gyrfalcon
• Lesser Kestrel
• Red-footed Falcon
• Eurasian Hobby
• Saker Falcon
• Merlin

Eagles

• Golden Eagle
• Booted Eagle
• White-tailed Eagle
• Bonelli’s Eagle
• Greater Spotted Eagle
• Eastern Imperial Eagle
• Lesser Spotted Eagle
• Spanish Imperial Eagle
• Short-toed Eagle
• Steppe Eagle
• Osprey

Hawks

• Northern Goshawk
• Levant Sparrowhawk
• Eurasian Sparrowhawk

Buzzards

• Common Buzzard
• Long-legged Buzzard
• Rough-legged Buzzard
• European Honey Buzzard

Kites

• Red Kite
• Black Kite
• Black-shouldered Kite

Harriers

• Hen Harrier
• Pallid Harrier
• Montagu’s Harrier
• Western Marsh Harrier

Vultures

• Bearded Vulture
• Eurasian Griffon Vulture
• Cinereous Vulture
• Egyptian Vulture