The sixteenth episode of the S1 Megafauna Series,
EAGLES - is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus Aquila. Most of the 68 species of eagles are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, just 14 species can be found-two in North America, nine in Central and South America, and three in Australia.
Eagles are not a natural group but denote essentially any kind of bird of prey large enough to hunt sizeable (about 50 cm long or more overall) vertebrates.
Eagles are often informally divided into four groups.
The snake eagles are placed in the subfamily Circaetinae. The fish eagles, booted eagles, and harpy eagles have traditionally been placed in the subfamily Buteoninae together with the buzzard-hawks (buteonine hawks) and harriers. Some authors may treat these groups as tribes of the Buteoninae; Lerner & Mindell proposed separating the eagle groups into their own subfamilies of Accipitridae.
However, a recently extinct species, the New Zealand Haast's eagle, was the largest eagle ever known, weighing up to 17 kg (37 lb), with a 3 m (9.8 ft) wingspan.
Credits: Me & Enbiya Zengin
11 сен 2024
