The largest eagles: species, description

This large bird, floating freely and freelyheaven, raises admiration for its inaccessibility, majesty and incredible power. It is not for nothing that in many folk tales it occupies the majestic place of the king of all birds.

In this article, the largest eagles of the world and Russia, or rather, some of them, will be presented. These are delightful and graceful giants with an unbelievably huge sweep of powerful and powerful wings.

About Eagles

In nature there is a huge family of eagles,which includes many species of eagles. However, in Russia there are not so many of them: the golden eagle, the gravedigger, the dwarf, the hawk, the steppe, the big and the small earthenware.

Each of these species is peculiar, hascertain features in the structure, in size, in habitats and habits. All this and about what the biggest eagles exist on earth will be told in this article.

Golden eagle

Of all the known species of eagles, the golden eagle is one of thethe most powerful and beautiful. The sweep of its powerful wings reaches 2 meters. And its tail, playing the role of the helm and giving maneuverability and speed, is also rather big. In connection with this, there is practically no chance of salvation in the eagle-marked production.

The eagle beak is a powerful weapon. In its shape it is large and curved. With its cutting edges, the golden eagle is able to cut the skin of the victim. And this is not the most important weapon. He also has strong powerful claws, with which he grabs and kills the animal he captures.

Hunt eagle golden eagles on a variety of animals: rodents (marmots, ground squirrels and hares), birds (black grouses and wood grouses), small ungulates. Even turtles sometimes become his victim, although they have, it would seem, a reliable shell. In the latter case, the cunning of this wise bird plays an important role. She throws the captured tortoise from a height, thanks to which the shell is broken against stones, and delicious tender meat becomes food of the golden eagle.

The nest of this bird is huge, with a diameter of up to 2meters, and up to one. In the inner part of his home the eagle eagles lays wool, scraps of skins, branches of trees with leaves, fresh coniferous branches. In nature, you can find nests, built by him, even at an altitude of about 3000 meters.

Andean condor

This is a larger bird, living inAndes and the Pacific coast. Three meters is the span of the wings of the condor. This giant is known for its collar of white feathers on the neck on the background of a beautiful shiny black plumage, as well as a crest on its head.

It feeds mainly on carrion, but can also hunt medium sized birds, and also likes to feed on eggs. In total, a condor can eat for one sitting about 6 kilograms of meat.

These giants live quite high in the mountains, and they arrange their nests almost at a 5-meter height.

Peregrine Falcon

The bird has a name that, in translation fromLatin means "traveling", and it's deserved. She travels almost everywhere, visiting the northern European countries, Asia, America, while flying to Central Africa.

The dark-gray shade of the upper body of the bird has triangular spots, and the lower, yellowish tone, - dark stripes. Spotted feathers have a blue-black color.

The place of nesting of this giant bird isLarge forests interspersed with rocks. Peregrine Falcon is a bird nestling in the crevices of steep rocks, but more often it prefers abandoned habitation of vultures and eagles. About 50 years ago it was seen even on high-rise buildings in European cities.

The main food of the Peregrine Falcons is birds (from larks togeese). Not for nothing they are called pigeons. During hunting for prey, birds develop a huge speed, and therefore it often happens that the victim, after diving, is saved, and the predator itself is broken about the barrier.

Perfect hunter of peregrine falcon. However, like other falcons, he, when pursued by other predators, throws his captured victim. What other cunning birds of prey use. They often lie in wait for peregrine falcon to get easy prey.

Peregrine Falcon, like many of the largest eagles, with long-standingis used by people as a hunting bird. It differs from other hunting eagles with slightly smaller sizes, a short tail and a strongly bent beak.

The Philippine Harpy

This strong predatory bird of the hawk familyin another way is called a monkey. The Philippine Harpy is one of the rarest large birds in the world. She dwells only in the Philippines, in the rainforests. This bird is one of the main national symbols of the country, and it is under state protection. Her murder is punishable by the Philippine laws of twelve years of imprisonment and a major fine.

The dimensions of the Philippine harpy are impressive: length from 80 to 100 cm, the width of the wingspan is about 220 cm. The long tail and comparatively short wings allow this bird to maneuver quite easily in flight in dense forests.

The head of the bird is whitish-buffy with a tuft ofnarrow and long feathers having a brown color on the side of the back and on the wings, and on the tail - with darker transverse bands. The belly is ocher-whitish in color.

A bird has a tall and very large beak.

In conclusion about some curious facts

The largest eagles that exist today on thethe land, it turns out, is not so gigantic. In 2000, The Times published a sensational report that New Zealand archaeologists found the skeletons of giant eagles. Scientists with the help of various studies have established that the weight of the birds found could reach 20 kg, which, most likely, did not allow them to rise to a greater height. Another interesting fact is that old tools of labor, made from the bones of large birds, were discovered.

Sensational results were obtained when comparing DNA. It turned out that the remains belong to the huge eagles that once inhabited New Zealand.

And the DNA of this ancient species did not coincide with eitherone of the modern species. Only a dwarf eagle on DNA reminds these birds. Giant eagles fed more small birds (similar to geese), which were available to humans. In this regard, their population rapidly declined, and eventually they completely died out. And after them were also doomed and giant eagles, who lost their main source of food.