Recent studies have shown that raptors (e.g. Figure 2f)[69], can be important top predators, especially when indirect effects are considered [17,70]. More mobile than nonflying predators, raptors can respond faster to increases (or decreases) in prey populations. Raptor species that initially appear ecologically similar, such as variable hawks Buteo polyosoma and Harris’s hawks Parabuteo unicinctus in Chile, can have distinct functions, especially in ecosystems with large spatiotemporal fluctuations [71]. Raptors might reduce populations of rodent and
avian agricultural pests or indirectly limit their impact[72,73], but research in this front is limited.