Bird-of-prey (Star Trek) - Definition and Overview

"Bird-of-prey" is a common name for various makes of Romulan and Klingon warship in the Star Trek fictional universe.

Ships referred to as birds-of-prey include:

• The Romulan Bird-of-Prey class starship, a 2260s-era fighter seen in "Balance of Terror", featuring a cloaking device and a powerful plasma-based weapon and easily identifiable by the red and yellow painting of a bird on the bottom of the hull
• The Klingon B'rel class starship, a small scout ship with a form similar to a bird and with movable 'wings'.
• The Klingon K'Vort class starship, a large cruiser similar in appearance to the B'rel, but with unmovable wings.

The use of the term with respect to Klingon ships was in itself an error by the writers, who changed the enemies in Star Trek III from Romulans to Klingons without updating the dialog.

The Boeing Bird of Prey, which bears a resemblance to the Star Trek spacecraft, also took its name from the fictional series. Interestingly, the Boeing aircraft was used to test stealth and (potentially) active camouflage technologies.

External links

• Klingon Bird-of-Prey (http://www.memory-alpha.org/en/index.php/Klingon_Bird-of-Prey) at Memory Alpha, a Star Trek WikiWiki
• Romulan Bird-of-Prey (http://www.memory-alpha.org/en/index.php/Romulan_Bird-of-Prey) at Memory Alpha