12/25/2023 0 Comments Birds of prey list with 10 ft wingspan![]() Taxonomy An adult wedge-tailed eagle at Lake Burrumbeet in flight, notably dark and blackish colour. Īlthough historically heavily persecuted by humans through poisoning and shooting, mostly for alleged predation on sheep, wedge-tailed eagles have proved to be exceptionally resilient, and have quickly rebounded to similar or even higher than pre-colonization numbers, thanks in part to humans inadvertently providing several food sources such as rabbits and large volumes of roadkills. This species is known to be highly sensitive to human disturbance at the nest, which may lead to abandonment of the young. ![]() Nesting failures are usually attributable to human interference such as logging activity and other alterations, which both degrade habitats and cause disturbances. Usually, breeding efforts manage to produce one or two fledglings which, after a few months more, tend to disperse widely. Wedge-tailed eagles usually construct a large stick nest in an ample tree, normally the largest in a stand, and typically lay two eggs, although sometimes one to four. The species tends to pair for several years, possibly mating for life. Additionally, wedge-tailed eagles often eat carrion, especially while young. The introduction of the European rabbit ( Oryctolagus cuniculus) has been a boon to the wedge-tailed eagle and they hunt these and other invasive species in large volume, although the wedge-tailed eagle otherwise generally lives off of marsupials, including many surprisingly large macropods. Although a true generalist, which hunts a wide range of prey including birds, reptiles and, rarely, other taxa, the species is by and large a mammal predator. The wedge-tailed eagle is one of the world's most powerful avian predators. Preferred habitats, however, tend towards those that have a fairly varied topography including rocky areas, some open terrain and native woodlots such as Eucalyptus stands. They reside in most habitats present in Australia, ranging from desert and semi-desert to plains to mountainous areas to forest, even sometimes tropical rainforests. The wedge-tailed eagle is one of its native continent's most generalized birds of prey. A large brown-to-black bird of prey, it has a maximum reported wingspan of 2.84 m (9 ft 4 in) and a length of up to 1.06 m (3 ft 6 in). Genetic research has clearly indicated that the wedge-tailed eagle is fairly closely related to other, generally large members of the Aquila genus. The wedge-tailed eagle is one of 12 species of large, predominantly dark-coloured booted eagles in the genus Aquila found worldwide. Adults of this species have long, broad wings, fully feathered legs, an unmistakable wedge-shaped tail, an elongated maxilla, a strong beak and powerful feet. ![]() It is also found in southern New Guinea to the north and is distributed as far south as the state of Tasmania. ![]() The wedge-tailed eagle ( Aquila audax) is the largest bird of prey in the continent of Australia. ![]()
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