GOLDEN EAGLE(Aquila chrysaetos)
GOLDEN EAGLE
(Aquila chrysaetos)
An inhabitant of wild, mountainous country, the golden eagle preys on rabbits, marmots, and other mammals, as well as on other birds. It often makes a fast, low-level attack, catching its prey from behind. Golden eagles nest on crags or in trees, making a large platform out of sticks. They lay two eggs a year and often use the nest for many years in succession, adding more nesting material each time they breed. Though people have always admired the golden eagle for its power, its reputation for attacking lambs and gamebirds has led to its persecution. As a result, and because its eggs are sometimes stolen from nests by collectors, this magnificent bird of prey is now quite rare.
This powerful bird is Africa's largest eagle. It attacks a wide range of animals, including hyraxes and snakes, usually by diving on them from high in the air. Like many birds of prey, male and female martial eagles differ in size, with the females being larger than their mates. Martial eagles nest high up in trees and often use the same nest for many years.
The wedge-tailed eagle lives in a wide range of habitats, from open plains to dense forest. With a wingspan of over 8 feet, it can catch animals as large as young kangaroos, lauching its attack either from the air or from a perch high up in a tree. Before rabbits were introduced to Austrailia, wedge-tailed eagles there ate mostly marsupials, but they now eat rabbits as well. They also gather around dead sheep and other animal remains.
Harpy eagles live in tropical forests. Their short, broad wings make them slow but highly maneuverable. Harpy eagles fly over forest canopy, snatching prey from the treetops. They eat monkeys and lizards, but they specialize in attacking sloths. Female harpy eagles, which are larger than males, can lift animals weighing 12 pounds - about the same as their own body weight. Deforestation has had a severe effect on these birds, and particularly in Central America, they are now extremely rare.
The Philippine eagle is one of the world's most endangered birds of prey, with perhaps as few as 150 birds left in the wild. Like the American harpy eagle, it lives in dense forest and has been brought to the edge of extinction by the rapid clearence of its forest home. The Philippine eagle attacks monkeys, squirrels, pigs, and flying lemurs, or colugos. It searches for food either by flying above the trees or by perching beneath the treetops, where it silently watches, waiting for any animals to come within reach.
The bald eagle is the national bird of the United States of America. It is also one of the world's largests birds of prey. It lives near rivers, lakes, and coasts and feeds mainly on fish, though it also eats other birds. There were once about 50,000 bald eagles in North America, but by the 1970s, the numbers had dropped to 2,000 due to poisoning from the pesticide DDT. DDT has now been banned, and the eagles are making a gradual recovery.
With its white head and chest and its loud yelping call, this eagle is a distinctive bird of prey. It perches on waterside trees, watching the water for signs of food. If it sees a fish, it glides down and snatches up the prey with one foot before returning to its perch to eat.
Over large parts of Europe and Asia, the buzzard can often be seen soaring high in the air. Even when it is far away, its highpitched, mewing cry is easy to hear. It feeds on a wide range of live animals, from rabbits to earthworms, and will also eat dead remains. At the start of the breeding season, in early spring, buzzards perform spectacular courtship displays. The male and female pass sticks to each other in mid air and sometimes lock their feet together and tumble toward the ground. The turkey vulture is sometimes called a buzzard, but it is not a close relative of the Eurasian buzzard.
This heavily-built bird of prey is the most common hawk in North America. It is also one of the most variable, with more than 12 local varieties, each different in size and color. Red-tailed hawks live in woods, open plains, and deserts. They feed mainly on rodents. In Canada, red-tailed hawks are summer visitors, but in most of the United States, they stay all year round.
An efficient hunter and scavenger, the black kite is one of the world's most widespread birds of prey. It is also the one that is least afraid of people. In Asia, it often lives in towns and cities, where it swoops down to snatch up scraps of food, even where there is busy traffic. The black kite also follows bush fires, looking for animals flushed out by the smoke and flames. Like other kites, it has a forked tail, which it uses like a rudder to help it dodge any obstacles in its path.
This remarkable bird feeds entirely on freshwater snails. It has an unusually long and slender beak that is ideal for prying the snails from their shells. It finds its food by flapping along low over marshes and reedbeds. When it locates a snail, it picks it up with one foot, then carries it to a perch to feed.
Harriers hunt by flying low over the ground, flapping and gliding back and forth across the same stretch of country. If they spot food-a mouse or a young bird, for example-they drop to the ground and snatch it up with their feet. Unusually for birds of prey, harriers nest on the ground, and both parents feed the nestlings until their ready to fly. Female northern harriers are brown, but the slightly smaller males are light gray.
The peregrine falcon is the world's fastest bird. It dives on other birds in midair, reaching speeds of more than 100 mph as it plummets toward its prey. It can knock a pigeon from the air with a single slash of its talons. Like other falcons, the peregrine has a slender body, a long, narrow tail, and pointed wings. It usually breeds on mountains or cliffs, but some live in cities, nesting on window ledges.
There are about 50 species of falcons, and this Arctic species is the largest of them all. Females can weigh more than 4 lb.-twice as much as many of the males. Gyrfalcons live in and near the Arctic, where they feed on ptarmigans, ducks, and other birds. They also prey on hares and rodents, speeding close to the ground to make a kill. Some gyrfalcons have gray plumage, but others are largely white-a useful feature in a snow-covered landscape.
Kestrels are small falcons that eat rodents and insects. They have superb eyesight and hover over open ground watching for food, with their tails splayed out and their wings beating rapidly. Kestrels are the largest birds that can hover for long periods. Unlike hummingbirds, they need a gentle headwind to keep them in the air. Common kestrels may take over other birds' nests. They lay up to five eggs a year in one clutch, and the nestlings can fly a month after hatching.
Vultures are birds of prey that feed on dead remains instead of catching live animals. They have extremely good eyesight, and they watch for food from the air, soaring high in the sky. The turkey vulture, often mistakenly called a buzzard, is the most widespread vulture in the Americas. It lives in a variety of habitats and can often be seen over roads, where it watches for animals that have been hit by cars. Like other vultures, it has a bald head, an adaptation that helps it stay clean when it feeds. Adult turkey vultures have bright red heads, which contrast with their dark brown plumage.
The Andean condor is the largest vulture in the world. Its wings can measure up to 10.5 ft. from tip to tip, a size equaled by only one other land bird, the marabou stork. Its head and neck are bald, but it has a wite, feathery "collar" and black and white wings. Condors soar over high mountains, nesting and roosting on inaccessible ledges. They lay one to three eggs a year. Their young take up to six months to leave the nest.
Andean condors are still common, but their lagest living relative, the California condor, is in danger of extinction. This giant vulture once lived throughout the mountains of central and southern California, but today only about 30 birds are left, mostly in captivity. A program is underway to breed captive condors and release their young into the wild.
This vulture is one of more than six species that soar over tha African plains. It takes off shortly after sunrise, when the air has began to warm, and finds its food partly by watching the ground below, partly by watching other vultures. If one vulture spots a carcass and drops down to feed, others quickly arrive from many miles around. Ruppell's griffons are stronger than most other African vultures, and they push aside the smaller species to feed.
This species is unlike other vultures in appearance and in the way it feeds. It has a feathered head and neck and a "beard" of bristles around its beak. It specializes in eating the tough parts of carcasses, such as the skin and bone. It drops the bones from high up in the air. The bones smash when they land, allowing the birds to feed on the marrow inside.
This small, off-white vulture is one of the few animals that use tools to get their food. It normally eats insects and dead remains, but if it finds an ostrich egg, it throws a stone at the egg until it breaks. Egyptian vultures often gather on garbage dumps near cities.
Caracaras feed mainly on dead animals, but they are not true vultures. Their closest relatives are the falcons. Like falcons, they usually fly by flapping their wings instead of soaring, but their long legs make them good at walking on the ground. The crested cararcara lives on the edge of forests and in open country, where it often feeds on animals killed on roads.
The secretary bird is a bird of prey, but it is so unusual that biologists classify it in a family all its own. It has a hooked beak, a red face, and a feathery crest, but its most distinguishing features are two extremely long legs that end in relatively small feet. The secretary bird lives on the ground, but it flies well and nests on tops of trees. It often stamps its prey to death. It eats frogs, lizards, and small rodents, but snakes are its favorite food. When it attacks a snake, it uses its wings as shields, making it difficult for the snake to strike.
**All Facts and Information contained in this website can be found in the following reference materials: The Kingfisher Illustrated Animal Encyclopedia and The Complete Book of Animals from The American Education Publishers
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MARTIAL EAGLE
WEDGE-TAILED EAGLE
AMERICAN HARPY EAGLE
PHILIPPINE EAGLE
BALD EAGLE
AFRICAN FISH EAGLE
EURASIAN BUZZARD
RED-TAILED HAWK
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SNAIL KITE OR EVERGLADE KITE
NORTHERN HARRIER OR MARSH HAWK
PEREGRINE FALCON
GYRFALCON
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TURKEY VULTURE
ANDEAN CONDOR
CALIFORNIA CONDOR
RUPPELL'S GRIFFON
BEARDED VULTURE
EGYPTIAN VULTURE
CRESTED CARACARA
SECRETARY BIRD