Eagle

Eagle is the common name for some large birds of prey in the family Accipitridae. Only the subfamily Aquilinae includes the "true eagles" when looking at genetics. Many other birds are also called eagles, such as the bald eagle, because the word does not have a strict scientific meaning.

There are 68 species of eagles. Most of them live in Eurasia and Africa. Outside these areas, only 14 species are found: two in North America, nine in Central and South America, and three in Australia.

Eagles are not a single natural group. The name is used for almost any bird of prey that is big enough to hunt fairly large vertebrates, which are animals with backbones. These birds are usually at least about 50 cm long.

This article is about the bird. For other uses, see Eagle (disambiguation) and Eagles (disambiguation).

Etymology

The English word "eagle" came from Old French aigle, which came from Latin aquila. Similar words exist in Portuguese águia, Spanish águila, and French aigle. In the past, the old English word for eagle was "ern" (Old English: earn), which came from Proto-Germanic. Related words in other Germanic languages include German Aar, Dutch arend, Swedish örn, and Gothic ara.

The word "ern" or "erne" is still used in Modern English for some of the larger eagles, especially the fish eagles. Some bird experts like this word because it helps tell fish eagles apart from true eagles. Even so, fish eagles, such as the bald eagle and white-tailed eagle, are still often called "eagles".

Description

Eagles are large, powerful birds of prey with heavy heads and beaks. Even the smallest, such as the booted eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus), are about the size of a common buzzard (Buteo buteo) or red-tailed hawk (B. jamaicensis). The smallest species is the Great Nicobar serpent eagle (Spilornis klossi), at about 450 g (1 lb) and 40 cm (16 in). Most eagles are bigger than other raptors, except some vultures. Like all birds of prey, they have strong legs and sharp talons. Their eyes are very sharp. The wedge-tailed eagle is thought to see about twice as well as a typical person, which helps eagles spot prey from far away. Like most daytime raptors, they cannot see ultraviolet light well. In all known species, the female is larger than the male.

Eagles build their nests, called eyries, in tall trees or on high cliffs. Many lay two eggs. Because of their size and strength, many eagles are apex predators of the bird world. What they eat depends on the group. Haliaeetus eagles often catch water birds and sometimes take food from other birds, which is called kleptoparasitism. Icthyophaga eagles mostly catch fish. The snake eagles Circaetus, Terathopius, and Spilornis mostly eat snakes. Aquila eagles catch almost any medium-sized vertebrate they can, and many forest eagles, such as Spizaetus, hunt animals in woodlands. The bald eagle once carried a 6.8 kg (15 lb) mule deer fawn, the heaviest load verified for any flying bird. Some eagles, including golden and crowned eagles, have caught prey heavier than themselves. Bird writers David Allen Sibley, Pete Dunne, and Clay Sutton noted that most birds of prey look back before they strike, but eagles do not.

Habitat

Eagles live in many different places all over the world. They can be found in cold northern lands, hot rainforests, and deserts. In North America, bald eagles and golden eagles are very common.

Distribution

Eagles live in many parts of the world. In the Australasian region, Australia is home to the wedge-tailed eagle, whose range reaches into southern New Guinea. The white-bellied sea-eagle also lives in Asia, and the little eagle is found there too. New Guinea is home to the Papuan eagle, the white-bellied sea-eagle, and the pygmy eagle.

In the Nearctic region of the USA and Canada, you can find the golden eagle and the bald eagle. The golden eagle is also found in the Palearctic region.

In the Neotropical region of Central and South America, there are four species of Spizaetus. There are also two kinds of solitary eagles, the harpy eagle, the crested eagle, and the black-chested buzzard-eagle.

The Palearctic region includes Europe, Northern Africa, and most of Asia. It does not include South Asia or Southeast Asia. Across Eurasia, the golden eagle and the white-tailed eagle live there.

In Subsaharan Africa, eagles include the African fish eagle, the Martial Eagle, the Crowned eagle, Verreaux's eagle, the Tawny eagle, and the Long-crested eagle.

Groups

Eagles are often sorted into four informal groups. The snake eagles are placed in the subfamily Circaetinae. They mostly hunt snakes. Fish eagles, booted eagles, and harpy eagles have traditionally been placed in the subfamily Buteoninae, along with buzzard-hawks and harriers. Some scientists think these eagle groups should have their own subfamilies within the Accipitridae.

Fish eagles eat a lot of fish, whether fresh or already dead. They live on every continent except South America. They are listed as "Near Threatened," which means they could become endangered. This is because of overfishing, pollution, loss of their homes, and pesticides. Booted eagles, also called "true eagles," have feathers on their lower legs. Harpy eagles, or "giant forest eagles," live in tropical forests. Not all of them are closely related, even though they live in similar places and have often been grouped together. Examples include the harpy eagle, crested eagle, Papuan eagle, Philippine eagle, Chaco eagle, and solitary eagle.

Species

Scientists who study how eagles are related to each other, called taxonomy, have found that the groups Aquila and Hieraaetus do not hold each other's closest relatives. Some species may be moved to other groups, such as Lophaetus or Ictinaetus. Bonelli's eagle and the African hawk-eagle have already been moved from Hieraaetus to Aquila. The steppe eagle and tawny eagle were once thought to be conspecific, meaning they were the same species. We now know they are not even each other's closest relatives.

Eagles are sorted into several subfamilies. The true eagles are one group. Other groups include hawks, buzzards and kites, snake-eagles, and harpies. The greater spotted eagle and lesser spotted eagle may move to join the long-crested eagle. Or all three may move with the black eagle.

Main article: Accipitridae

In culture

The English word "eagle" comes from Latin "aquila", through French "aigle". Its origin is unknown. It may come from a word meaning dark-colored, which may refer to the eagle's feathers. Old English used "earn", which is similar to other Indo-European words for "bird" or "eagle", and to the Welsh word "eryr". The Finnish town of Kotka, near the Gulf of Finland, means "eagle". The Italian town of L'Aquila in central Italy also means "the eagle". In Britain before 1678, "eagle" meant the golden eagle, and the white-tailed eagle was called an "erne". The name "golden eagle" was introduced by the naturalist John Ray. The village of Eagle in Lincolnshire, England, is named after oak trees and woods, not the bird.

Eagles appear in many beliefs and stories. In ancient Sumerian mythology, the king Etana was said to have been carried up to heaven by an eagle. The eagle was the sacred bird of the ancient Greek god Zeus. The Moche people of ancient Peru worshiped the eagle. The golden eagle was sacred to the Aztec god Huitzilopochtli, and the harpy eagle was sacred to Quetzalcoatl. In Christian art, the eagle often stands for the Gospel of John. Eagle-shaped lecterns are common in Anglican and some Roman Catholic churches. In the United States, the eagle feather law allows only certain Native American people from federally recognized tribes to get eagle feathers for religious or spiritual reasons.

Eagles are a very common symbol in heraldry, the study of coats of arms. They are called the "King of Birds", while the lion is the "King of Beasts". The lion usually stands for authority, and the eagle stands for power. Eagles are especially popular in Germanic countries such as Austria, because of their link to the Holy Roman Empire. The two-headed eagle of that empire was thought to represent the East and West divisions of the old Roman Empire. This symbol was also used by the Russian Empire, and it still appears on the Flag of Albania. Earlier, eagles were used by Ptolemaic Egypt and the Achaemenid Empire. Eagles stand for strength, courage, and independence. Many nations, including the United States, use them in their coats of arms.