Wedge-tailed Eagle

What Is a Wedge-tailed Eagle?

The wedge-tailed eagle is Australia 's largest bird of prey. In fact, it's one of the largest eagles in the world.

Unlike most species, female Wedge-tailed Eagles are generally larger than males, with even large males struggling to weigh as much the smallest females.

A Wedge-tailed Eagle may attack kites, hang-gliders or even helicopters, thinking they are other eagles trying to break into their territory.

Wedge-tailed Eagle chicks are brown in colour with reddish-brown heads and wings. As they get older, their plumage darkens almost to black, with chestnut feathers on their head, down the back of their neck and through their tail. Females tend to have slightly lighter colouring than males.

These eagles get their name from the distinctive diamond or wedge shape of their tails. Unlike many eagles, the wedge-tail's legs are feathered down to their feet, which makes them look like they're wearing pants. Each foot has 3 forward-facing toes and one rear-facing.

Wedge-tailed Eagles are very large and stand about a metre tall. They can stretch their wings over twice this far, generally more than 2 metres wide, which is wider than people can stretch their arms.

Where does a Wedge-tailed Eagle live?

Wedge-tailed Eagles are most often found in open woodland areas with a good grassy ground cover. They generally avoid ranforests and coastal heaths and are rarely seen in urban areas, although urban numbers appear to be increasing.

Wedge-tailed Eagles may also hunt outside their home range, but they often share these hunting-only areas and will not defend them in the way they will their regualr home range.

The Wedge-tailed Eagle is endemic to Australia, and can be found throughout the country, including Tasmania, which even has its own subspecies.

What does a Wedge-tailed Eagle eat?

Wedge-tailed Eagles are diurnal predators, meaning that they hunt during the day. Generally, they will hunt early in the morning and spend the rest of the day watching over their territory and protecting their feeding grounds from other eagles. They also have home ranges where they will hunt, but which they share with other eagles.

Most of a Wedge-tailed Eagle's diet consits of small ground animals, including mammals and reptiles. Traditionally, this meant wallabies, small kangaroos, snakes, lizards, possums and even smaller birds. Wedge-tailed eagles have even been seen feeding on beach-washed carcasses at Wilsons Promontory National Park .

The arrival of Europeans in Australia brought a number of introduced species, which the eagle has added to its diet. These include rabbits, which now make up quite a large part of the diet (in some cases over 90%) and foxes and sheep.

Wedge-tailed Eagles were hunted for many years because it was believed that they killed a lot of sheep. It wasn't until the 1970s that it was realised that they were only predating weak, dying and dead sheep, which were of little economic value to the domestic sheep industry.

Wedge-tailed Eagles generally prefer live food, but it is not unusual for them to feast on carrion (the flesh of dead animals). However, they will not eat carrion during the breeding season.

Wedge-tailed Eagles usually hunt alone, but they often will hunt in pairs and larger groups are not uncommon, especially with particularly large prey, such as red kangaroos.

Wedge-tailed Eagles' only threat is humans. Apart from being hunted by sheep farmers, which in some areas reduced their numbers to dangerously low levels, deforestation reduces available nesting areas and splinters populations. Because they are slow to take off, sometimes, Wedge-tailed Eagles will be hit by cars while feeding on roadkill. Another man-made threat to Wedge-tailed Eagles is indirect poisoning, where they may feed on pest animals which have been baited.

Wedge-tailed Eagle's family life

A breeding pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles will mate for life and will establish a nesting territory of around 10 hectares, where they will live throughout the year. The nest is usually about 2m wide and 3m deep and is made by both parents, from dead sticks. It has a hollow cup in the top, which the male lines regularly with fresh twigs and leaves. Wedge-tailed eagles live in the same nest for many years. A study conducted in 2002 found that 18 of 22 nests surveyed in the ‘60s were still in use. Because of the size of the nesting territory, they may have a few nests, but they will only use one of them for breeding.

During the breeding season, the couple get very territorial and may attack unfamiliar eagles which invade their territory.

The female eagle lays two to three speckled eggs over the course of about a week, which she and her mate incubate together. During the incubation period, the male does all the hunting. After the chicks hatch, he will continue to hunt for the whole family, bringing home food which the mother will shred and feed to the chicks.

When the chicks do hatch, usually only the first, which will be larger than the second (which will, in turn, be larger than the third) will survive and in years when food is very scarce, the first may even kill and eat the smaller chicks.

When predators threaten, chicks lie flat in the nest to present a smaller target. Sometimes, they may even defend themselves if neither of the adults are around to defend them.

In times of drought, wedge-tailed eagles may go a number of years wilthout breeding at all.

When one Wedge-tailed Eagle of a pair dies, the other will generally find a new mate.

Good parks to see them:

Grampians National Park , Wilsons Promontory National Park

Want to Know More?

http://www.zoo.org.au/Learning/Programs/VCE/Healesville/Fly_Like_an_Eagle

http://www.amonline.net.au/birds/factsheets/wedgetail.htm