Birds of Prey by Tom JacksonSynopsis: “Birds of Prey – or raptors – are some of the most captivating bird species in the world. Think of eagles and condors, vultures, hawks and kites, but also owls and ospreys. Think of the peregrine falcon, which, reaching speeds of up to 320km/h (200mph), is the world’s fastest animal – when diving. From the New World Caracaras to the Oriental Hobby, the Northern Goshawk to the Swamp Harrier to the European Merlin, Birds of Prey explores the fascinating lifecycles, habitats, diets and, where applicable, migratory patterns, of more than 100 species from all around the world. They primarily hunt and feed on vertebrates that are large relative to the hunter. They have keen eyesight, being able to spot their prey from great distances, and strong feet equipped with talons for grasping or killing prey, and powerful, curved beaks for tearing flesh. In addition to hunting live prey, most also eat carrion, at least occasionally, and vultures and condors eat carrion as their main food source. With full captions explaining how the species hunt and feed, nest and rear their young, Birds of Prey is a brilliant examination in 240 outstanding colour photographs”

My Review

This was another fantastic nonfiction book from Amber Books, full of gorgeous photos of all sorts of birds of prey. 

The book is split up into seven chapters including an Introduction, Eagles and Kites, Hawks and Harriers, Vultures, Falcons and Kestrels and Owls, In the Nest and of course the very important Picture Credits at the end.

We have a few birds of prey over here in Jersey and I’ve been lucky enough to get some decent photos of Marsh Harriers, Kestrels and Buzzards over the years, so I really enjoyed looking at the gorgeous photos in this book.

My favourite photos were of the Black Eagle of South-east Asia,India and China, completely black apart from it’s beak and talons. The Bateleur Eagle of Africa with its gorgeous black head feathers and red legs. An wonderful action photo of a Sea Hawk coming up from the water with a fish in it’s talons!

My favourite chapter was the one about Owls which was full of the most wonderful photos. I particularly liked a brilliant photo of a Little Owl coming into catch a vole and an amazing photo of the Great Grey Owl in mid flight.

Highly recommended if you enjoy photo books about wildlife.

Thanks so much to Amber Books and NetGalley for my digital copy.