P Birds-of-Prey

Birds of Prey BENCHMARK • P
Birds of Prey
A Reading A–Z Level P Benchmark Book
Word Count: 685
Written by Fran Mason
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Birds of Prey
Photo Credits:
Front cover, back cover, title page, pages 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14: © PhotoDisc; page 6:
© Warren Jacobi/Corbis; page 11: © GeoStock/PhotoDisc/Getty Images; page 12:
© John Cancalosi/ardea.com; page 13: © iStockphoto.com/Cay-Uwe Kulzer;
page 15: © Sergei Uriadnikov/123RF

Birds of Prey
Level P Benchmark Book Correlation
© Learning A–Z LEVEL P
Fountas & Pinnell M
All rights reserved. Reading Recovery 28
www.readinga-z.com www.readinga-z.com
DRA 28
Table of Contents
Introduction........................................... 4
Owls....................................................... 5
Barn Owl.............................................. 6
Great Gray Owl..................................... 6
Northern Pygmy Owl........................... 7
Great Horned Owl................................ 8 Red-tailed hawk
Falcon-Like Birds.................................... 9 Introduction

Eagles................................................. 10 Birds that hunt and eat other animals .
are called “birds of prey.” Birds of prey
Falcons............................................... 1 1
have strong feet with talons, or claws.
Vultures.............................................. 12 They grab their prey with their feet.
Hawks................................................ 14 They also have sharp, curved beaks. .
They use their beaks to tear apart their
Kites................................................... 15 food. Birds of prey live all over the.
Glossary............................................... 16 world. They live in open prairies, on
mountaintops, and in deserts. A few
birds of prey even live in cities.
Birds of Prey • Level P Benchmark 3 4

Do You
Know?
Owls have softer,
fluffier feathers than
most birds. Their soft
feathers allow them to
fly silently and sneak
Barn owls up on their prey.
European eagle owl
Barn Owls and Great Gray Owls

Owls
The common barn owl is found in North
Owls are one kind of bird of prey. .
and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa,
Most owls hunt at night. They use their
and Australia. These owls discovered .
sensitive ears to listen for their prey.
that barns can be good places to live.
They use their big eyes to see at night. .
Owls drop down on their prey and One of the world’s biggest owls is the
snatch it up in their claws. Some kinds . great gray owl. This owl lives in Canada,
of owls eat small birds, mice, or insects. northern Europe, and northern Asia. .
Other owls can catch fish or crabs . It can live to be 40 years old. It can grow
in shallow water. up to 84 centimeters (33 in) tall.

Do You Know?
The tawny owl, found
in Britain, Europe, and
Asia, can be found in
cities with large parks,
such as London and
Berlin. It has such good
ears that it can hear an
earthworm crawling out
of its hole.
Great horned owl
Pygmy owl
Great Horned Owl
Northern Pygmy Owl The great horned owl has a famous
One of the world’s smallest owls is . “hoot.” Its call can be heard from far
the northern pygmy owl. It lives in away on quiet nights. It lives in the
western North America. It is only about forests, deserts, and plains of North,
16 centimeters (6 in) tall. But it is fierce! Central, and South America. The great
The pygmy owl can often scare off horned owl likes to eat many different
animals bigger than it is. Pygmy owls animals, such as rabbits and chickens.
live in holes in trees. They like to eat Sometimes it will wade into the water .
small birds, lizards, and insects. to catch a frog or a fish.

Golden eagle
Eagles
The eagle is a well-known bird of prey.
The African martial eagle has a wingspan
Bald eagle as long as a grown person’s height. This
eagle is so big that it can capture a baby
Falcon-Like Birds gazelle. It usually eats rabbits, squirrels,
The family of falcon-like birds of prey . and birds. Golden eagles and bald eagles
are different from owls. Falcon-like birds live in the open country of western North
hunt during the day, so they do not . America. The golden eagle can also be
need the big eyes and silent feathers . found in Europe, Asia, and northern
that owls have. Instead, they need speed, Africa. Eagles use sticks to build nests
so they have a sleeker shape. that are larger than bathtubs.

Peregrine falcon Cape Griffon vulture
Falcons Vultures
Falcons are fast fliers. The peregrine You might be surprised to know that
falcon lives in landscapes that range vultures are also birds of prey. They are
from arctic tundra to tropical rain forest. different from hawks and eagles because
It is one of the fastest-flying birds of their prey is dead before they eat it. .
prey. When it dives, it can reach a speed For this reason, they are known as
of 322 kilometers (200 mph) per hour. scavengers. The Cape Griffon vulture
The peregrine falcon usually eats prey of southern Africa feeds small bones .
that it catches in midair. to its chicks to make their bones strong.

Turkey vulture Do You
Know?
Eagles, hawks,
and some other
birds of prey with
large wingspans
can soar on top of
warm air masses.
They can float
high in the air
for long periods
of time without
flapping their
wings.
Red-tailed hawk
Hawks
Hawks are sharp-eyed hunters. Many
The turkey vulture of North, Central, .
hawks can hunt in dense brush because
and South America benefits people. .
of their long tail and rounded wings.
It removes dead animals so that diseases
do not spread. Its sense of smell is so The gray hawk has a beautiful black-.
good that the turkey vulture has been and-white banded tail. This bird lives
used to help people find gas leaks. along rivers in Mexico and eats lizards.

Glossary
predator an animal that catches
and eats other animals.
(p. 15)
prey an animal that is hunted

and eaten by another
animal (p. 4)
scavenger an animal that finds and

eats scraps of garbage .
or animals that are
Black kites
already dead (p. 12)
talons claws (p. 4)

Kites
Kites are lightweight birds with large tundra a cold, treeless Arctic
wings and a forked tail. The black . region where the ground
is always frozen (p. 11)
kite is found in Europe, Africa, Asia,
Australia, and elsewhere. The black . wingspan the width of a bird’s
kite is a scavenger and a predator. wings when they are fully
Black kites are plentiful because they . spread (p. 10)
can eat many different things. Hundreds
of them can be seen flying together .
in some tropical places.

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Birds of Prey BENCHMARK • P

Written by Fran Mason

Visit www.readinga-z.com www.readinga-z.com

Written by Fran Mason

Great Gray Owl..................................... 6

Northern Pygmy Owl........................... 7

Great Horned Owl................................ 8 Red-tailed hawk

Falcon-Like Birds.................................... 9 Introduction

Birds of Prey • Level P Benchmark 3 4

Barn Owls and Great Gray Owls

Birds of Prey • Level P Benchmark 5 6

Great horned owl

Birds of Prey • Level P Benchmark 7 8

Birds of Prey • Level P Benchmark 9 10

Birds of Prey • Level P Benchmark 11 12

Birds of Prey • Level P Benchmark 13 14

prey an animal that is hunted

scavenger an animal that finds and

talons claws (p. 4)

Birds of Prey • Level P Benchmark 15 16

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prey an animal that is hunted

scavenger an animal that finds and

talons claws (p. 4)