Bonelli's eagle
Bonelli's eagle, named after the 18th-century Italian naturalist Franco Andrea Bonelli, is a powerful raptor known for its impressive hunting skills. This eagle can be found across Europe, Asia, and Africa, typically inhabiting mountainous and rocky terrains with cliffs and woodlands. It primarily preys on birds and medium-sized mammals, showcasing a notable hunting technique where it surprises prey by hiding and then ambushing them, sometimes collaborating with another eagle during the hunt.
Adult Bonelli's eagles range from 21.5 to 26 inches in length, with a wingspan of 4.5 to 6 feet. They exhibit dark brown plumage on their backs and wings, contrasting with a white underside streaked with brown. Mating occurs between February and May, and these eagles are known for their lifelong pair bonds and territorial nature. They build large nests on high ledges or tall trees, reusing and adding to them each year. After an incubation period of about six weeks, the female typically lays two eggs, though often only one chick survives. Despite facing some challenges, Bonelli's eagle is currently classified as an animal of least concern, indicating that it is not at immediate risk of extinction.
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Bonelli's eagle
Bonelli's eagle is named after Franco Andrea Bonelli, a naturalist who lived during the 18th century in Italy. This eagle is a fierce hunter able to kill prey as heavy or heavier than itself, and it may be the most powerful of the raptors, or birds of prey.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Aquila
Species: Fasciata
During the 18th century (1700s) a naturalist named Franco Andrea Bonelli lived in Italy. A naturalist is one who studies animals and plants. Bonelli sent one of these eagles from Sardinia to his friend Louis Vieillot in France. Vieillot was an ornithologist, or a scientist who studies birds, and studied the eagle. He named the bird after Bonelli.
Bonelli's eagles can be found on the continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa living on mountains and rocky terrain with cliffs and in woodland areas. They are skilled at hunting in irregular rocky terrain. The eagle typically hides behind rocks or in trees and then surprises its prey. It may hunt with another eagle and chase prey into the path of its partner. The Bonelli's eagle preys on birds (larks, partridges, ducks, gulls, and herons) and medium-sized mammals (gerbils, rats, rabbits, hares). Other foods they eat include lizards and snakes. The Bonelli's eagle does not eat carrionor dead animalswhich is typically a trait of birds of prey.
Bonelli's eagles are typically between 21 1/2 and 26 inches (between 55 and 67 centimeters) in length and weigh 3 to 7 pounds (about 1 1/3 to 3 kilograms). The wing span of an adult eagle is 4 1/2 to 6 feet (1 1/2 to 2 meters). Females are typically larger, overall, than males. Dark brown plumage, or feathering, covers the back and wings of this eagle. Its underside is white with brown streaks. The undersides of its wings are banded in brown and white.
Bonelli's eagle may mate anytime between February and May. A pair of eagles claims its territory and fiercely defends it from all other birds which challenge the eagles' property rights. The pair mates for life and uses the same nest and nesting site each year or a new one. Aeries, or nesting sites, are typically on high rocky ledges or in tall treetops. A reused nest is added to each year and may be six feet (two meters) across. Some of the branches for the nest may be up to four feet (over one meter) long and one-inch (2 1/2 centimeters) around.
Before mating, the two eagles perform daring and exciting displays in the air. They dive at great speeds toward the ground and then circle back up just before they would hit the ground. One eagle may drop a branch from a great height, which the other eagle dives to catch. After mating, the female lays one to three, usually two, eggs in the nest and incubates them for six weeks. The male feeds her as she sits in the nest and may even take a short turn incubating the eggs each day. Only one chick survives most of the time because the other one dies of starvation or is killed by its older, larger sibling which hatched first and gets more food. The surviving chick is able to fledge, or to fly for the first time, after two months. It will either live alone or form a pair with another eagle when it turns four or five years old. It may live to hunt and mate for 20 years if it survives hunting and environmental conditions.
The Bonelli's eagle is categorized as an animal of least concern among conservationists, meaning it is not in danger of becoming extinct.
Bibliography
“Bonelli’s Eagle- Aquila Fasciata.” Avibase, avibase.bsc-eoc.org/species.jsp?lang=EN&avibaseid=05F1144132A7E4FF&sec=lifehistory. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.
“Bonelli’s Eagle.” The Peregrine Fund, peregrinefund.org/explore-raptors-species/eagles/bonellis-eagle. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.
Patibanda, Hari K. “Bonelli’s Eagle.” Animalia.Bio, animalia.bio/bonellis-eagle. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.