From the title of this post, I'm sure a lot of different birds might have flashed through your mind. When it comes to birds, there happen to be quite a couple of prestigious species. Today, am going to be writing about the most prestigious of all birds. The bird i consider to be king amongst it's fellow avians. The Eagle.
The Eagle is often considered a royal bird. Well this is only fair as it is the strongest bird in the world. This is definitely one bird you'll be amazed to know the things it can do. From its killer eye sight to its amazing hunting skills, nature really hit it right on this one. Stay put, as we uncover amazing details of the eagle together.
Description.
The term Eagle, is actually a general term for about 60 species of many large birds of prey belonging in the family Accipitridae. Well, Let me re-emphasize
on the fact that Eagles are Huge. They are powerfully built birds of prey. Thier heads and beak happen to be, Well...... really heavy.
Ps: Birds of Prey are basically large birds that hunt and feed on small animals.
Now back to the Description, Most Eagles are bigger than most birds of prey(apart from some vultures, of course!). The smallest species of Eagle is the South Nicobar serpent eagle (Spilornis klossi),which weighs 450 g (0.99 lb) and about 40 cm (16 in) long. Some Other smaller Species of Eagle includes the booted eagle (Aquila pennata), [which is about the same size as a buzzard(Buteo buteo)], and the red-tailed hawk (B. jamaicensis).Even though these birds are a smaller specie in terms of size, they have longer and larger wings.They also have a more direct and faster flight. This is actually awesome because thier aerodynamic feathers are reduced.
There is regular debate and argument with regards to coming to agreement to which eagle should be crowned the biggest of them all. When it comes to taking statistics, different variables are considered. From total length to body mass, and even wingspan. When all three variables are considered, different species take the top spot. Listed below are the top 5 Largest Eagle Species(In no particular order).
- The Philippines Eagle( Pithecophaga jefferyi), weighing 6.35 kg (14.0 lb) with a wing span of 220 cm (7 ft 3 in) and 100 cm (3 ft 3 in) long.
- The Steller's sea eagle(Haliaeetus pelagicus), weighing 6.7 kilograms (15 lb) with a wing span of 212.5 cm (7 ft 0 in) and
95 cm (3 ft 1 in) long.
- The Harpy eagle(Harpia harpyja), weighing 5.95 kg (13.1 lb) with a wing span of 206.5 cm (6 ft 9 in) and 98.5 cm (3 ft 3 in) long.
- The White-tailed eagle(Haliaeetus albicilla), weighing 4.8 kg (11 lb) with a wing span of 218.5 cm (7 ft 2 in) and 95.5 cm (3 ft 2 in) long.
- The Martial eagle(Polemaetus bellicosus), weighing 4.6 kg (10 lb) with a wing span of 206.5 cm (6 ft 9 in) and 87.5 cm (2 ft 10 in) long.
Eagles are known to have the heaviest beaks of all birds of prey. With thier hooked beaks, strong muscular legs and powerful talons, tearing flesh from prey should be easy peasy. Eagles have the most powerful eyesight of all birds. The martial eagle in particular, has a visual acuity 3.0 to 3.6 times that of humans. This capacity enables eagles to spot thier prey from a very far distance. They have extremely large pupils which reduces the diffraction (scattering) of the incoming light. Scientists have attributed thier great eye sight to this factor.
Habitat And Breeding.
Amongst the 60 Eagle species, About 14 species can be found Outside Eurasia and Africa.Two species are found in North America, Nine are found in Central and South America, and three are found in Australia. Apart from this 14, the remaining other 46 species live in Eurasia and Africa. Most Eagles usually prefer mature stands of coniferous or hardwood trees for perching, roosting, and nesting. The tree specie is not really taken in consideration when the Eagle is choosing the tree, what matters more is the height and it's proximity to prey. For some reason, Eagles like to build thier nest in trees that have areas of surrounding water. Nesting habitat can consist of mangrove swamps, the shorelines of lakes and rivers and generally, areas with water bodies and tall trees.
Most Eagles become sexually mature between Age 4 and 5 and Once they become sexually mature, they tend to return to the area where they were born. Eagles are known to stick to one partner for life, a new patner is chosen the moment the other patner dies or when they haven't made progress in breeding.Spectacular calls and flight displays are a part of thier courtship. During thier love display, they fly high, lock talons, and free fall. They only separate when they are about hitting the ground.
Every Specie of Eagle has different time of the year they lay eggs. The Bald Eagle for example, is an early breeder. Nest building begins by mid February, while Egg laying happens in late February, incubation lasts between mid-March and early May.Eggs hatch between mid April and early May. The young fledge late June to early July.
Eagles build the largest nest(which is called eyries) of any bird. The nest can be used repeatedly over many years, and new material is usually added to the nest from time to time. The largest tree nest ever recorded of any animal(which was actually built by an eagle), was 6.1m(20 ft) deep,2.9 meters (9.5 ft) across, and to weigh 3 short tons (2.7 metric tons).
An Eagle egg is known to be about 73 mm (2.9 in) long, and have a breadth of 54 mm (2.1 in). On the average, averagely weighing
130 g. Nothing less is expected compared to how large Eagles can be. Eagles typically lay 2 eggs per year. It lays 3 eggs occasionally. Both parents take turns incubating the eggs. Even though the female does most sitting, the male also participates a lot. The parent who isn't incubating is usually out looking for food. Around 5 to 6 weeks of incubating, the attendance of both parents drops to about a half, as both parents would prefer to perch on surrounding trees and watch.
The eggs generally hatch within the range of 3 months. The young Eaglets can gain up to
170 g in a day. The more dominant eaglet, which is usually the female( females are always 25% larger than the males), frequently kills the younger eaglet when it is hatched. This happens occassionally. If all the eaglets eventually survive, they begin to pick up and play with sticks and even flap and spread thier wings. As early as 8 weeks, they have grown strong enough to flap thier wings and lift themselves up from the ground, and at this point, they are nearly as big as thier parents.
Behaviour And Diet.
Eagles are literally, very high fliers. It can go as fast as 56–70 km/h (35–43 mph), when gliding and also has a dive speed of 120–160 km/h (75–99 mph).Eagles are carnivores who can consume a vast variety of prey. Although, the diet of a particular eagle greatly depends on the area it inhabits. Eagles who live in areas vastly dominated by water, usually depend on fish as thier primary diet. Sometimes, fish can make up 80% of its diet. When fish hunting, the Eagle flies by the surface of the water and snatches the fish with it's talons. The fish is held with one claw, and torn with the other. The spicules in thier talon enables them to grasp and tear the fish.
The gripping power of an eagle, in comparism to that of a human, is ten times stronger. An eagle has been recorded to lift off and carry a
6.8 kg (15 lb) mule deer. This is the record for heaviest load ever lifted by a flying bird. Most Eagles can fly with fish a little bit above thier own weight, but if the fish is too heavy, the eagle could be dragged into water. What the Eagle then does in this situation is to drag the fish to shore and then eat it there. However, the eagle could also succumb to Hypothermia in this process. There's a part of the Eagle's throat, called a crop. The eagle can store up to 1kg of food in its crop. This is called gorging. Gorging enables the Eagle to fast for a couple of days, when food is scarce. When hunting large animals, Eagles may hunt cooperatively, in order for them to achieve thier similar goal. They could hunt in a group of 3. One would distract the prey while the others attack from behind. Sometimes, eagles are even likely to steal prey from other predators.
Water birds like grebes, alcids, ducks, gulls, coots, herons and so on, are also largely preyed on. The smaller species of water birds are usually preferred by eagles as it can easily be killed and carried away. Some Eagles even attack water birds, mid air. Snakes are also not left out of the diet as some Eagles prey on a large variety of snakes.
Some mammals are also eaten by Eagles. Rabbits, hares, ground squirrels, raccoons and some other small mammals are no exception. There has even been a case of an eagle preying on a pregnant ewe which weighs about 60kg. Well, the Eagle was joined by 2 other Eagles who helped finish the job.
Fascinating facts you didn't know about the Eagle.
Well, i think the most fascinating fact about the Eagle is its eye sight. An Eagle can see 10 times clearer than humans and has a 100× clearer night vision. They can even see ultra-violent light( They use this attribute to detect UV reflecting light from the urine of prey). Thier amazing eye sight is what enables them to precisely hunt from air and plan a strike from thousands of miles in air. It has been observed that most birds of prey look behind, and over thier shoulder before striking prey. The Eagles never do that, this is to show how precise thier strike and eye sight is.
As I mentioned earlier, The female Eagles are usually 25% bigger than the male Eagle. The male Eagle is However, a faster and swifter hunter. This is due to thier lighter weight. When an Eagle egg hatches, birthing the Eaglets, the female Eaglet who is bigger and dominant will occassionally kill the younger eaglet. The parents do nothing to stop this act.
Eagles are very loyal birds. When they choose a partner, they stick with each other till death.Thier display of love and romance in the sky, is truly a sight to behold. Clasping thier talons to each other and free falling endlessly, truly magical.
Eagles are really strong. When the Eagle's grip was compared to a lion's bite force, it turned out that an Eagle's grip is even stronger. When they grip prey firmly, There's definitely no letting go. In the History of New Zealand, there was an Eagle called the man-eating Eagle of New Zealand. Well like it'sname implies, the Eagle is a man eater. Unfortunately, that specie of Eagle is currently extinct.
In this new era of elite technological advancement, the Eagle has helped play a vital role in the fight against the use of technology for criminal activities. Let's use the drone as a case study. There has been instances where the drone has been used to drop bombs or spy on people in order to facilitate theft. It has also been used to move drugs in the prison grounds. Now In Germany, Eagles have been trained to attack drones, in some certain areas. The Eagle views the drone as a fellow bird of prey, trying to invade its space. It then attacks it. This is mostly being practiced in military areas.
Eagles are truly fascinating creatures. When it comes to birds, they are the total package. With all the skills they posses, its no surprise they are placed at the top of the food chain and named apex predator in aves.
Thank you for reading!
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