Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus Aquila. Most of the 68 species of eagles are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just 14 species can be found—two in North America, nine in Central and South America, and three in Australia.
Haast's eagle is an extinct species of eagle that lived in the South Island of New Zealand, commonly accepted to be the poukai of Māori legend. It was the largest eagle known to have existed, with an estimated weight of 15 kilograms, compared to the next-largest and extant 9 kg (20 lb) harpy eagle. Its massive size is explained as an evolutionary response to the size of its prey, the flightless moa, the largest of which could weigh 230 kg (510 lb). Haast's eagle became extinct around 1400, following the arrival of the Māori, who outcompeted it for its moa prey.
The golden eagle is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. These birds are dark brown, with lighter golden-brown plumage on their napes. Immature eagles of this species typically have white on the tail and often have white markings on the wings. Golden eagles use their agility and speed combined with powerful feet and large, sharp talons to hunt a variety of prey, mainly hares, rabbits, and marmots and other ground squirrels. Golden eagles maintain home ranges or territories that may be as large as 200 km2 (77 sq mi). They build large nests in cliffs and other high places to which they may return for several breeding years. Most breeding activities take place in the spring; they are monogamous and may remain together for several years or possibly for life. Females lay up to four eggs, and then incubate them for six weeks. Typically, one or two young survive to fledge in about three months. These juvenile golden eagles usually attain full independence in the fall, after which they wander widely until establishing a territory for themselves in four to five years.
The wedge-tailed eagle is the largest bird of prey in the continent of Australia. It is also found in southern New Guinea to the north and is distributed as far south as the state of Tasmania. Adults of the species have long, broad wings, fully feathered legs, an unmistakable wedge-shaped tail, an elongated upper mandible, a strong beak and powerful feet. The wedge-tailed eagle is one of 12 species of large, predominantly dark-coloured booted eagles in the genus Aquila found worldwide. Genetic research has clearly indicated that the wedge-tailed eagle is fairly closely related to other, generally large members of the Aquila genus. A large brown-to-black bird of prey, it has a maximum reported wingspan of 2.84 m and a length of up to 1.06 m.
The red-tailed hawk is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members within the genus of Buteo in North America or worldwide. The red-tailed hawk is one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the "chickenhawk", though it rarely preys on standard-sized chickens. The bird is sometimes also referred to as the red-tail for short, when the meaning is clear in context. Red-tailed hawks can acclimate to all the biomes within their range, occurring on the edges of non-ideal habitats such as dense forests and sandy deserts. The red-tailed hawk occupies a wide range of habitats and altitudes, including deserts, grasslands, coniferous and deciduous forests, agricultural fields, and urban areas. Its latitudinal limits fall around the tree line in the subarctic and it is absent from the high Arctic. Generally it favors varied habitats with open woodland, woodland edge and open terrain. It is legally protected in Canada, Mexico, and the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
The Sri Lanka blue magpie or Ceylon magpie is a brightly coloured member of the family Corvidae, found exclusively in Sri Lanka. This species is adapted to hunting in the dense canopy, where it is highly active and nimble. Its flight is rather weak, though, and is rarely used to cover great distances. In spite of the Sri Lanka blue magpie's ability to adapt to the presence of humans, it is classified as vulnerable to extinction due to the fragmentation and destruction of its habitat of dense primary forest in the wet zone of southern Sri Lanka.
The changeable hawk-eagle(Nisaetus cirrhatus) or crested hawk-eagle is a large bird of prey species of the family Accipitridae. More informal or antiquated English common names include the marsh hawk-eagle or Indian crested hawk-eagle. It is a member of the subfamily Aquilinae, with signature feathers, absent in tropical raptors from outside this subfamily, covering the tarsus. It was formerly placed in the genus Spizaetus, but studies pointed to the group being paraphyletic resulting in the Old World members being placed in Nisaetus and separated from the New World species. It is a typical “hawk-eagle” in that it is an agile forest-dwelling predator and like many such eagles readily varies its prey selection between birds, mammals or reptiles as well as other vertebrates. Among the members of its genus, the changeable hawk-eagle stands out as the most widely distributed, adaptable and abundant species. Individuals show a wide range of variation in plumage from pale to dark, varying with moult and age giving rise to the name "changeable".
The mountain hawk-eagle or Hodgson's hawk-eagle, is a large bird of prey native to Asia. The latter name is in reference to the naturalist, Brian Houghton Hodgson, who described the species after collecting one himself in the Himalayas. A less widely recognized common English name is the feather-toed eagle. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae. Its feathered tarsus marks this species as a member of the subfamily Aquilinae. It is a confirmed breeding species in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, from India, Nepal through Bangladesh to Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam and Japan, although its distribution could be wider still as breeding species. Like other Asian hawk-eagles, this species was earlier treated under the genera of Spizaetus but genetic studies have shown this group to be paraphyletic, resulting in the Old World members being placed in Nisaetus and separated from the New World species. As is typical of hawk-eagles, the mountain hawk-eagle is a forest dwelling opportunistic predator who readily varies its prey selection between birds, mammals and reptiles along with other vertebrates. Although classified currently as a least-concern species due its persistence over a rather wide distribution, this species is often quite rare and scarce and seems to be decreasing, especially in response to large-scale habitat degradation and deforestation.
The steppe eagle is a large bird of prey. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. The steppe eagle's well-feathered legs illustrate it to be a member of the subfamily Aquilinae, also known as the "booted eagles". This species was once considered to be closely related to the sedentary tawny eagle and the two forms have previously been treated as conspecific. They were split based on pronounced differences in morphology and anatomy; two molecular studies, each based on a very small number of genes, indicate that the species are distinct but disagree over how closely related they are.
The spot-bellied eagle-owl, also known as the forest eagle-owl is a large bird of prey with a formidable appearance. It is a forest-inhabiting species found in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. This species is considered part of a superspecies with the barred eagle-owl, which looks quite similar but is allopatric in distribution.
Verreaux's eagle is a large, mostly African, bird of prey. It is also called the black eagle, especially in southern Africa, not to be confused with the black eagle of south and southeast Asia. The Verreaux's eagle lives in hilly and mountainous regions of southern and eastern Africa, and very locally in the Middle East.
The ornate hawk-eagle is a fairly large bird of prey from the tropical Americas. Formerly, some authorities referred to this species as the crested hawk-eagle, a name that may cause some confusion as it is more commonly used for an Asian eagle species. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae. This species has a feathered tarsus that marks it as a member of the Aquilinae or booted eagle subfamily. This species is notable for the vivid colors and bold markings of adults, which differ considerably from the far more whitish plumage of the juvenile bird. The ornate hawk-eagle ranges from central Mexico south through much of Central America and in a somewhat spotty but broad overall range into South America, including in the west apart from the Andes and broadly on the Atlantic side especially Brazil down to as far as Southeast Brazil and northern Argentina. This species is found largely in primary forests with tall trees, although can be found in many forest types.
The martial eagle is a large eagle native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is the only member of the genus Polemaetus. A species of the booted eagle subfamily (Aquilinae), it has feathering over its tarsus. One of the largest and most powerful species of booted eagle, it is a fairly opportunistic predator that varies its prey selection between mammals, birds and reptiles. It is one of few eagle species known to hunt primarily from a high soar, by stooping on its quarry. An inhabitant of wooded belts of otherwise open savanna, this species has shown a precipitous decline in the last few centuries due to a variety of factors. The martial eagle is one of the most persecuted bird species in the world. Due to its habit of taking livestock and regionally valuable game, local farmers and game wardens frequently seek to eliminate martial eagles, although the effect of eagles on this prey is almost certainly considerably exaggerated. Currently, the martial eagle is classified with the status of Endangered by the IUCN.
The Papuan eagle is a large bird of prey. It is also known by several other names, including Papuan harpy eagle, New Guinea eagle, New Guinea harpy eagle, or kapul eagle, the latter name from the local name for a usually arboreal, marsupial that the eagle is known to regularly hunt. This is an endemic species to New Guinea, and it can occasionally be found throughout the island. This is a forest-dwelling species, usually occurring in mature rainforest. The Papuan eagle is a fairly little-known species for a large eagle; however, it is known to prey on a wide range of prey, probably by and large mammals and birds from small to quite large sizes. What little study has been conducted about their breeding habits suggests they nest in a large forest tree, perhaps every other year. The Papuan eagle is probably naturally scarce, but it is under the threat of habitat destruction by deforestation, as well as hunting. Due to its small and declining population, the species has been classified as vulnerable by the IUCN.
Spizaetus is the typical hawk-eagle birds of prey genus found in the tropics of the Americas. It was however used to indicate a group of tropical eagles that included species occurring in southern and southeastern Asia and one representative of this genus in the rainforests of West Africa. The Old World species have been separated into the genus Nisaetus. Several species have a prominent head crest. These are medium to large-sized raptors, most being between 55 and 75 cm long, and tend to be long-tailed and slender.
The crested eagle is a large Neotropical eagle. It is the only member of the genus Morphnus. The crested eagle can grow up to 89 cm (35 in) long, with a wingspan up to 176 cm (69 in), and weigh up to 3 kg (6.6 lb). The plumage varies between a light brownish-gray to sooty gray or even blackish in some cases. It has a white throat and a dark spot on the crest and a small dark mask across the eyes. It ranges extensively throughout Central and South America, but not in large numbers. favoring tropical lowland forest. A powerful predator, its diet consist mainly of small mammals, rodents, snakes and smaller birds. Despite their large distribution, they are currently classified as Near Threatened by the IUCN, due mainly to habitat loss
Ayres's hawk-eagle, also referred to as Ayres' eagle, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. It is native to African woodlands. Its name honors South African ornithologist Thomas Ayres.
The Aquilinae are a subfamily of eagles of the family Accipitridae. The general common name used for members of this subfamily is "booted eagle", although this is also the common name of a member of the subfamily. At one point, this subfamily was considered inclusive with the Buteoninae based probably on some shared morphological characteristics. However, research on the DNA of the booted eagles has shown that they are a monophyletic group that probably have had millions of years of separation from other extant forms of accipitrid.
The Eurasian goshawk is a species of medium-large bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, a family which also includes other extant diurnal raptors, such as eagles, buzzards and harriers. As a species in the genus Accipiter, the goshawk is often considered a "true hawk". The scientific name is Latin; Accipiter is "hawk", from accipere, "to grasp", and gentilis is "noble" or "gentle" because in the Middle Ages only the nobility were permitted to fly goshawks for falconry.
The crowned eagle, also known as the African crowned eagle or the crowned hawk-eagle, is a large bird of prey found in sub-Saharan Africa; in Southern Africa, it is restricted to more easterly areas. Its preferred habitats are principally riparian woodlands and various forests. The crowned eagle is the only extant member of the genus Stephanoaetus. A second species, the Malagasy crowned eagle, went extinct after early humans settled on Madagascar.
Nisaetus kelaarti
