Bird of Prey (Star Trek)

A Bird of Prey is a type of Romulan and Klingon warship in the fictional series Star Trek. It derives its name from its bird like appearance. The distinguishing marks of Birds of Prey are a small head, green paint job and large wings.

There are several different Birds of Prey.

• the type seen in Balance of Terror
• D-5, the mainstay of the Klingon fleet during 2152
• D-7, the type seen in Star Trek: The Original Series
• D-12, the type seen in Star Trek: Generations
• others

They are generally smaller than normal Starfleet ships, relying on speed and numbers to overwhelm their enemies. They use photon torpedoes and disrupters and Klingons generally board damaged ships to take control of them and add them to their fleet.

There are several other types of larger Klingon and Romulan ships, but these are not called Birds of Prey. 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.