Tawny Eagle – Aquila rapax
Today I feel a bit boring… not sure why… so I surf the net for some information about eagle which hopefully can make my day better.
The eagle species that attract my attention at the moment is tawny eagle. Based on wikipedia, The Tawny Eagle (Aquila rapax) is a large bird of prey. It is about 62-72 cm in length and has a wingspan of 165-185cm. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. It was once considered to be closely related to the migratory Steppe Eagle, Aquila nipalensis, and the two forms have previously been treated as conspecific. They were split based on pronounced differences in morphology and anatomy (Clark, 1992; Olson, 1994; Sangsteret al., 2002); molecular analysis[citation needed] indicates that these birds are not even each other’s closest relatives.
It breeds in most of Africa both north and south of the Sahara Desert and across tropical southernwestern Asia to India. It is a resident breeder which lays 1-3 eggs in a stick nest in a tree, crag or on the ground.
Throughout its range it favours open dry habitats, such as desert, semi-desert, steppes, or savannah.
This is a large eagle with tawny upperparts and blackish flight feathers and tail. The lower back is very pale. This species is smaller and paler than the Steppe Eagle, although it does not share that species’ pale throat.
Immature birds are less contrasted than adults, but both show a range of variation in plumage colour.
The Tawny Eagle’s diet is largely fresh carrion of all kinds, but it will kill small mammals up to the size of a rabbit, reptiles and birds up to the size of guineafowl. It will also steal food from other raptors.
The call of the Tawny Eagle is a crow-like barking, but it is rather a silent bird except in display.
February 18th, 2007 at 11:36 pm
[...] Secretarybird Sagittarius serpentarius Bearded Vulture Gypaetus barbatus Hooded Vulture Necrosyrtes monachus Cape Vulture (Cape Griffon) Gyps coprotheres Whitebacked Vulture Gyps africanus Lappetfaced Vulture Torgos tracheliotus Whiteheaded Vulture Trigonoceps occipitalis Yellowbilled Kite and Black Kite Milvus migrans Blackshouldered Kite Elanus caeruleus Black Eagle (Verreaux’s Eagle) Aquila verreauxii Tawny Ealge Aquila rapax Wahlberg’s Eagle Aquila wahlbergi African Hawk Eagle Hieraaetus spilogaster Longcrested Eagle Lophaetus occipitalis Martial Eagle Polemaetus bellicosus Crowned Eagle Stephanoaetus coronatus Brown Snake Eagle Circaetus cinereus Blackbreasted Snake Eagle Circaetus pectoralis Bateleur Terathopius ecaudatus African Fish Eagle Haliaeetus vocifer Steppe Buzzard Buteo buteo Forest Buzzard Buteo trizonatus Jackal Buzzard Buteo rufofuscus Augur Buzzard Buteo augur Lizard Buzzard Kaupifalco monogrammicus Black Sparrowhawk Accipiter melanoleucus Little Banded Goshawk (Shikra) Accipiter badius Gabar Goshawk Micronisus gabar Pale Chanting Goshawk Melierax canorus Dark Chanting Goshawk Melierax metabates African Marsh Harrier Circus ranivorus Gymnogene Polyboroides typus Osprey Pandion haliaetus Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus Lanner Falcon Falco biarmicus Rock Kestrel Falco tinnunculus Greater Kestrel Falco rupicoloides Lesser Kestrel Falco naumanni Barn Owl Tyto alba Pearlspotted Owl Glaucidium perlatum Spotted Eagle Owl Bubo africanus [...]