Visitor FAQs: Why are birds of prey referred to as 'raptors'?
I recently watched the sequel to the Jurassic Park series of movies, Jurassic World. I was impressed by the fact that it stayed true to the spirit and adventure of the original Jurassic Park movies but with enhanced and modernized special effects. And of course it featured the small but fearsome "raptors", that were now fully computer animated. The other night I was leading an evening nature walk at the nature center where I work in the south suburbs of Chicago, and we were looking at our resident hawks and owl. I mentioned that hawks and owls were members of a group of birds known as raptors, or birds of prey. One gentlemen jumped up and exclaimed, "Raptors? You mean like dinosaurs?" I chuckled a bit and explained that the term raptors refers to birds of prey, not the semi-mythical dinosaurs that reach down and grab unobservant bystanders with their giant claws and gnarly teeth. The term raptor is derived from the Latin word "rapere" which loose