Throughout history, humans have been fascinated by birds of prey and owls: witness these birds' frequent use in heraldry and the wealth of superstition that surrounds some of them, especially owls. They are no less intriguing to the naturalist, who enjoys their beauty as well as wanting to know more about their behaviour.

Britain's breeding birds of prey fall into two groups – those who are largely or partly nocturnal and those who are diurnal or day-living. Between them, these birds live, breed and hunt in virtually every habitat and eat a wide range of prey from mammals and birds to fish, insects and other invertebrates. Some are accomplished scavengers and several eat carrion. Despite many threats to their habitat, conservation action across a broad front has meant that most of them are now doing quite well, either their numbers remaining constant or slowly building to an acceptable level.

	BARN OWL	KESTREL
LENGTH	33-35CM	32-35CM
WINGSPAN	85-93CM	71-80CM
APPROX NUMBERS IN UK	4000 BREEDING PAIRS	51,500 BREEDING PAIRS
HABITAT	OPEN LOWLAND, FARMLAND	ALL OPEN COUNTRY AND BUILT-UP AREAS
WHERE TO FIND THEM	ALL UK EXCEPT NORTHERN SCOTLAND	WIDESPREAD THROUGHOUT UK
HUNTING	MAINLY AT NIGHT BY MEANS OF EXCEPTIONAL HEARING AND SIGHT. PREY IS SMALL MAMMALS SUCH AS MICE AND VOLES, RARELY SMALL BIRDS	DAYTIME HUNTER. OFTEN HOVERS OVER PREY BEFORE STRIKING. EATS SMALL MAMMALS, INSECTS AND SMALL BIRDS