Eagle Head Birds Of Prey

The term eagle (from Middle High German adelar[e] for 'noble eagle', where eagle meant eagle and eagle-like (ignoble eagles)) is in a broader sense a not exactly defined collective name for large and powerful species of birds of prey in the hawk family, such as for the genus of sea eagles, white-tailed eagle, the short-toed eagle or the Philippine eagle. In a narrower sense, the term eagle stands for the genus of true eagle (Aquila) with its associated species. Their largest living representatives are the golden eagle and the wedge-tailed eagle. Outside of the hawks, the osprey, which belongs to its own family, is also counted among the eagles in German.

With a wingspan of up to 3 meters, the Shark Eagle (Harpagornis moorei), which became extinct around 1400 AD, is considered the largest known eagle. Its habitat was in New Zealand. The extraordinary visual acuity of their eyes allows all eagles to spot and hunt their prey even from great heights. Their main prey are ground-dwelling vertebrates, primarily mammals. Only rarely do they feed on carrion. Eagles are very well adapted to use updrafts to fly. The eagle grasps prey with its talons as it swoops down from flight. In doing so, three of its toes point forward and the rear claw pierces the prey's body in a pincer movement. The prey is suffocated by the grip.

The female usually lays two to three eggs in the nest built from twigs (eagle's nest). Often, however, only one of the young is raised. All eagle species are protected, their population is endangered by human influence. The art of the ancient Orient uses the eagle in many variations as a symbolic animal. Already 3000 B.C. the mixed creature lion eagle is found in Mesopotamian representations, double eagles are known from Babylonia of the 23rd century B.C..  In many North American Indian tribes, their feathers - mostly as headdresses - were considered a sign of bravery, and they made pipes from their bones.