From buzzards to harriers and falcons to eagles: theFSC Birds of prey guidefeatures all 15 day-flying raptor species that breed in the UK.

Birds of prey can be highly variable and your view of the bird may be fleeting. But by looking at pictures side-by-side you can generally narrow down the choice to two or three species. To help confirm raptor identification, we have included particular features to look out for. For each bird these include size, habitat, range, flight pattern and possible confusion species.

45 species of diurnal raptor breed in continental Europe, with 308 species worldwide. So the British breeding fauna is small. Nevertheless the UK list contains representatives from three of the worlds five birds of prey families.

Most of these are resident all year round, while some are summer visitors. The population of some species is regularly boosted by migrants from outside the UK. Other species sometimes seen may be passage migrants, vagrants or escaped falconers birds.

The Birds of Prey identification guide was produced in partnership with theHawk and Owl Trust.