bird of prey

American

noun

any of numerous predacious, flesh-eating birds, as the eagles, hawks, kites, vultures, falcons, and owls, having a sharp, downwardly curved beak, talons, and, usually, soaring flight.

bird of prey British

noun

a bird, such as a hawk, eagle, or owl, that hunts and kills other animals, esp vertebrates, for food. It has strong talons and a sharp hooked bill

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of bird of prey

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

White-tailed eagles - the UK's largest bird of prey - will be released across Exmoor National Park after the government approved the latest stage in a controversial national reintroduction scheme.

From BBC • May 13, 2026

Britain's second largest bird of prey was wiped out in England during the 19th Century after a concerted campaign of hunting.

From BBC • Apr. 11, 2026

Meanwhile the narrator’s financially devious husband appears as a vulture with “the brooding eye, the blood-tipped beak, the flabby folds of flesh” of a bird of prey.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025

How do you share a film set with a notoriously fierce bird of prey?

From Barron's • Oct. 13, 2025

“By golly,” he said and picked up a casting from a bird of prey.

From "Frightful's Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023