Wedgetail Eagle

Description:

The female Wedge-tailed Eagle weighs between 3 and 5.77 kg (6.6 and 12.7 lb), while the smaller males weigh 2 to 4 kg (4.4 to 8.8 lb).[1][2] Length varies between 81 and 106 cm (32 and 42 in) and the wingspan between 182 and 233 cm (72 and 92 in).[1][2] The largest wingspan ever verified for an eagle was for this species. A female killed in Tasmania in 1931 had a wingspan of 2.84 m (9.3 ft), another female measured barely smaller at 2.79 m (9.1 ft).[3] This eagle's great length and wingspan place it among the largest eagles in the world but its wings, at more than 65 cm (26 in) each, and tail, at 45 cm (18 in), are both unusually elongated for its body weight and 8-9 other eagle species regularly outweigh it.[2] Young eagles are a mid-brown colour with slightly lighter and reddish-brown wings and head. As they grow older, their colour becomes darker, reaching a dark blackish-brown shade after about ten years (birds in Tasmania are usually darker than those on the mainland). Adult females tend to be slightly paler than males. Although it rarely needs to be distinguished from other Aquila eagles, its long, wedge-shaped tail is unique to this species.

Habitat:

Wedge-tails are found throughout Australia, including Tasmania, and southern New Guinea in almost all habitats, though they tend to be more common in lightly timbered and open country in southern and eastern Australia.