#Wedge-tailed Eagle

[ridiculousbirdfaces]

Funny Lips by Tony S

Wedge-tailed Eagle (Aquila audax)

[sitting-on-me-bum]

"Wedge-Tailed Eagle"

Bird: Wedge-tailed Eagle, Hawker, SA

By Michelle Gardner

BirdLife Australia Photography Awards

[proton-wobbler]

Round 3, Poll 13

Wedge-tailed Eagle vs Short-tailed Pygmy-tyrant

sources under cut

Wedge-tailed Eagle

“they’re friggin’ huge, they can have a wingspan of over 9 feet, I’m always just completely in awe when I see them. also, great legs.”

As a true generalist, anything is on the menu for this eagle. They seem to prefer mammals, especially the invasive European rabbit, but will also hunt native marsupials, including larger macropods (kangaroo). Because of this wide diet they’ve got a range that encompasses all of Australia and Tasmania.

Wedge-tailed Eagle have been noted to attack hang gliders and paragliders, though they are mostly targeting the sail itself and not the human. They’ve also been known to attack unmanned aerial vehicles used for survey operations. This is likely territorial defense, with the eagles mistaking these objects as another eagle.

Short-tailed Pygmy-tyrant

“small. hilarious name-bird combo”

“the smallest bird in the world after several species of hummingbirds. Naming this beast a "tyrant” is the funniest thing ever. Also I’m tail-shaming it" (for reference: tyrant refers to the family this bird belongs to- tyrant flycatchers, which are named after kingbirds)

“Although its plumage is similar to some other tyrant flycatchers, in the field the bird is more often mistaken for a large beetle or insect, especially while in flight… Its flight movements have a mechanical-feel that enhances the insect comparison.” - Wiki

Images: Eagle (Luke Shelley); Flycatcher (Anselmo d'Affonseca)

[lazer-t]

Wedge-Tailed Eagle for a $15 Ko-fi supporter

[cowsandcrows]

did a couple sketches of this GORGEOUS bird i saw on a documentary! It's an Australian wedge-tailed eagle!

[briery]

You Yangs Bunjil geoglyph by Graham_by_the_sea on Flickr. An aerial view of the You Yangs stone sculpture reveals Bunjil the traditional Creator Spirit of the Wathaurong Aboriginal people. Bunjil, represented in the form of a Wedge-tailed Eagle. (Hi-Res).

[terry-the-insane]

Animal of the day for October 24: Wedge-Tailed Eagle (Aquila audax)

The Wedge-Tailed Eagle is the largest raptor in Australia, as well as one of the largest eagles in the world. Wedge-Tailed Eagles mainly hunt small mammals such as possums and rabbits, but are known to target prey as big as kangaroos. They are also known to attack drones and paragliders, one was even rumored to have downed a helicopter by attacking the pilot.

[blanc-author]

Some simple bird-studies with my characters🕊

[hometoursandotherstuff]

[birds-of-prey-daily]

Wedge-tailed Eagle

[harkthorn]

Wedge-tailed eagle/kangaroo hybrid (griffon? Griffon-adjacent at least)

-2730

[proton-wobbler]

Round 2, Poll 29

Hairy Hermit Hummingbird vs Wedge-tailed Eagle

sources under cut

Hairy Hermit Hummingbird

“All the other hummingbirds are called really sparkly sound names like ‘wood nymph’ or ‘emerald’ or ‘topaz’ or ‘comet tailed’ or so and then there’s the hairy hermit. It’s not like other girls /joking but also”

Also known as: Rufous-breasted Hermit; a widespread species of hummingbird, they are common in much of their range, from Southern Brazil to the Northern edge of Panama.

Hermit hummingbirds are typically associated with heliconia flowers, using their long, decurved bill to easily access the nectar. This species in particular also uses heliconias as a nesting platform.

Wedge-tailed Eagle

“they’re friggin’ huge, they can have a wingspan of over 9 feet, I’m always just completely in awe when I see them. also, great legs.”

As a true generalist, anything is on the menu for this eagle. They seem to prefer mammals, especially the invasive European rabbit, but will also hunt native marsupials, including larger macropods (kangaroo). Because of this wide diet they’ve got a range that encompasses all of Australia and Tasmania.

Wedge-tailed Eagle have been noted to attack hang gliders and paragliders, though they are mostly targeting the sail itself and not the human. They’ve also been known to attack unmanned aerial vehicles used for survey operations. This is likely territorial defense, with the eagles mistaking these objects as another eagle.

Images: Hummingbird (Peter Hawrylyshyn); Eagle (Luke Shelley)

Birds of the World: Rufous-breasted Hermit

[dovemoulins]

just realised i forgot to post my bird pics from when i went to an ecology camp in south australia!!! so fun. i have a bunch more so i might do a part 2

[little-fox-adventures]

A pair of wedge tailed eagles were flying around us on our walk today. Thought they might be eyeing off the dogs, but all was good. Really awesome to see them

[arminreindl]

Dynatoaetus: Australia's Mighty Eagle

Paleontology news from the land down under, and big ones this time. How big? Well how about one of the largest true birds of prey of Australasia. Today a new paper was published naming Dynatoaetus gaffae (Gaff's Mighty Eagle), the largest known bird of prey to have ever existed in Australia. Twice the weight of the modern wedge-tailed eagle, it must have been truly an imposing animal to behold, in the Australasian realm second only to the enormous Haast's eagle of New Zealand. Comparisson below by Ellen K. Mather

But the name is a bit of a missnomer, well sorta. You see, while its referred to as an eagle, phylogenetic analysis shows that the closest living relatives of Dynatoaetus are actually aegypiine vultures. Or in simpler terms, those old world vultures known for their mostly naked necks such as lapett-faced vultures, hooded vultures and griffon vultures. Below some examples of this group by yours truly.

At the same time tho, despite being related to these vultures, Dynatoaetus didn't act like one. In this regard eagle is an appropriate term, more indicative of a lifestyle and morphology rather than relation (seeing as sea eagles relate to kites and philippine eagles are closer to these vultures than "real" eagles). With really robust hindlimbs and powerful talons, Dynatoaetus is more suited to capturing and incapacitating struggling live prey than it is to simply scavening dead bodies. And with Australia's megafauna offering a wide range of kangaroos, giant wombats and flightless birds it hat a lot to choose from.

Of course a bird of this size would not be above scavening either and with its power and bulk it could easily dominate carcasses when in conflict with the smaller Cryptogyps. Overall this lifestyle appears similar to what we see today in wedge-tailed eagles, which are formidable hunters but also opportunistic scavengers. Mather and colleagues even go as far as to suggest that the role of generalist apex predator was initially filled by Dynatoaetus and wedge-tails only managed to take up this nische after the former went extinct some 50k years ago along with most of Australias native fauna.

If you want an idea of things, here's some pictures of wedge-tailed eagles doing their thing. Now imagine what that would be like at twice the size. images by Clive Roper and Scott Bell

As per usual with these posts, here is the Wikipedia page I set up. Keep in mind the skeletal there shows the known material, but does not accurately represent the real proportions as its simply a colored griffon vulture. And the paper itself, its open access and gives more detail than I ever could.

Dynatoaetus - Wikipedia

A giant raptor (Aves: Accipitridae) from the Pleistocene of southern Australia | SpringerLink

And since you made it this far, here's a reward....or punishment? Idk depends but once I heard its name meant "mighty eagle" I couldn't get this goddamn clip out of my head and so you shall suffer with me.

[areawest]

eagles

I’m so glad you asked! My favourite species is rhe wedge-tailed eagle, found in Australia and New Guinea. Aren’t they just beautiful!

Honourable mention also to the incredible white-tailed eagle, which has the longest wingspan on any eagle species.

And of course, there’s the beautiful crowned eagle, found in sub-Saharan Africa. Look at those feathers!