The wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax) is mainly found in Australia and Papua New Guinea. It is the Australia’s largest true eagle. The wedge-tailed eagle is also called eaglehawk or bunjil. The bird is named after its wedge-shaped tail. The wedge-tailed eagle is typically recognized by its large wings and legs that are all covered with feathers. It possesses one of the biggest wingspans of all birds of prey. There are two subspecies of a wedge-tailed eagle: A. a. audax; and A. a. fleayi.
Wedge🦅Tailed Eagle Facts for Kids
John Latham, an English ornithologist was the first person who describe wedge-tailed eagle in 1801.
As is typical of a bird of prey, the females are bigger than the males.
Wedge tailed Eagle Size: Adult females weigh 6.6 and 12.7 pounds while males averaging 4.4 to 8.8 pounds. The overall length is about 81 and 106 cm with the wingspan measuring at 182 and 232 cm.
One with the biggest wingspan was shot in Tasmania in 1931. It had a wingspan of about 284 cm.
Wedge-tailed eagles have 45 cm long tail and 65 cm long wings.
Wedge tailed eagle habitat: They have reddish-brown wings but the plumage goes darker with age. Wedge-tailed eagles primarily make habitats in open country, grasslands, savanna, and lightly timber land.
Wedge-tailed eagles live in the southern New Guinea, Tasmania (Australia) as well as eastern and southern Australia.
Wedge tailed eagle diet: They are pure carnivores. Wedge-tailed eagles prey on possums, foxes, bandicoots, feral cat, small kangaroos, ducks, cockatoos, ibises, brown snakes, wallabies, koalas, crows, goannas, and frill-necked lizards.
During breeding season, the eagle engages in preening activities. Wedge-tailed eagles will also display some aerobatic flights in which they dive down pretty quickly to catch their mating partner.
The female builds a large nest made of sticks. The wedge tailed eagle’s nest is 2 – 5 meters deep and 2 – 5 meters wide.
The female lays only 2 eggs which are warmed (incubated) by both parents. Eggs hatch in about 45 days. The chicks rely on their parents for food in the first 180 days.
While the overall population is relatively stable the wedge-tailed eagle population in Tasmania consists of 200 pairs only.
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