Chasing
the Raptor
The
ghostly shadow soars in an exhilarated flight;
forbidden
in life; bequeathed through the veil;
Memories
burned away like a nebula's fiery light;
Rising
from the earth; to the clouds I inhale.
Once
only strife where life should have been;
Destiny
fulfilled during sunset at the harbor.
I'll
smile for awhile; electric vibe upon my skin.
Soaring
through the mists; chasing the raptor.
Raptors are birds of prey that hunt hunt and feed on other animals. The name is derived from the Latin "rapere" (to seize or take by force). They are characterized by keen vision that allows them to detect prey during flight, strong feet for holding food, and a strong curved beak for tearing flesh; most of them also have strong curved talons for catching or killing prey. Generally, they prey on vertebrates, which are usually quite large relative to the bird, but they may also eat carrion. They are often apex predators, meaning that they are at the top of a food chain upon which no other creatures prey and they play a crucial role in maintaining the health of their ecosystems. Raptors display patterns of sexual dimorphism (both genders of the same species exhibit different characteristics such as size, color, or markings); unlike other birds, male raptors are typically smaller than females. For instance, in the case of the kestrels: The smaller they are, the less food they need, allowing them to survive in harsher environments; the males are the primary providers and smallness gives them an agility advantage in hunting and defending the nest; the females are responsible for nurturing the young, so larger females can breed a larger clutch size and incubate more offspring. Carl Linnaeus grouped birds (class Aves) into orders, genera, and species (with no formal ranks between genus and order) and placed all raptors into a single order, Accipitres, subdivided into four genera: Vultur (vultures), Falco (eagles, hawks, falcons, etc.), Strix (owls), and Lanius (shrikes). Later Louis Pierre Veillot added two intervening ranks (tribe, family) and divided Accipitres into nocturnal tribes (consisting only of owls -- family Ægolii -- and diurnal tribes, divided into the three families Vulturini, Gypaëti, and Accipitrini. (He no longer included shrikes The shrikes among the raptors.) Raptors originated about 44 million years ago when the order split from the common ancestor of the secretarybird and the rest of the accipitrid species. Their common names are based on structure and do not necessarily reflect the evolutionary relationships between the groups.
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