Wedge-tailed Eagle – Aquila audax

The Wedge-tailed Eagle is Australia’s largest raptor (bird of prey). It lives in forests, woodlands and plains. This uniquely Australian eagle feeds mostly on rabbits, small cats and dogs, small mammals and carrion. They form permanent pairs and live in the same home range all year.

The Wedge Tailed Eagle is a smoky black colour with brown on the wings and has a wingspan of 2.5m, it has a long, wedge-shaped tail, very strong legs and extremely powerful talons equipped with a hooked beak which they use to tear up their food. The Wedge Tailed Eagle can grow up to 1m with the female eagle being 15-30% heavier than the male eagle.

Wedge Tails breed from April to September with 1-3 eggs being laid in a platform nest situated on top of a cliff or in a tree fork. The female wedge tail will incubate the eggs for about 45 days while the male wedge tail brings in the food. Only one of the wedge tail chicks usually survives. Join our site by registering now and check out the more in depth video (just to the right of this page) on our Autralian wildlife and conservation Wedge Tailed Eagle video map.