Eagles are famous birds all of us are aware of for their preying skills, giant-sized wings, and fierce looks. But did you know there is more than one variety of eagles? There are numerous different types of eagles present globally, and they vary as per the species. While all of them may belong to the same family, they definitely are not entirely the same in looks and features. Today, let us learn all about the species of eagles present around us globally.
Eagle and the Characteristics:
Eagle belongs to the family Accipitridae and the order Accipitriformes. It has an enormous big and heavy beak, bigfoot, and a popular prey animal. In addition, it has a feathered head, is very good in flight, and is pretty ponderous in nature. In most cases, eagles prefer live prey. They nest in very tall trees and hunt sloths, monkeys, and similar animals. However, the Eagle’s appearance differs from their kinds and species but mostly appears in black, brown, and grey shades. They are native to several countries and continents, except Antarctica. There are over 60 species of Eagles on earth and primarily found in Asia, Africa, and Europe.
Classification of Eagle Species:
While there are several types of eagles globally, these kinds of them can be grouped based on specific similar characteristics and species. Here is one such classification.
Serpent Eagles:
These are the most common eagles that belong to Asia and African continents. The serpent eagles are popular species that hunt and go after reptiles and snakes. These eagles come with very sharp and powerful beaks, clear and distant vision, and are silent too. These characteristics of being sharp, clear, powerful in nature make them distinct from other species in being excellent hunters. They aren’t, however, enormous like other species of eagles when compared.
Hawk Eagles:
The name Hawk eagles have come to them, given their resemblance to hawks. However, these are very different from hawks; their population is heavier in tropical areas, around South America, Asia, and Africa. They have distinct crests near heads, medium in size. The popular hawk eagles include a martial eagle, one among the largest of the species.
True Eagles:
The types of true eagles are found in India mostly, along with countries in Asia and Africa. They have strong long feathered legs that can extend till the feet and come with heavy beaks, head appearances, and hooked. They generally look larger than other types of eagles. The common and popular true eagles are spotted eagles and tawny eagles.
Sea Eagles:
The sea eagles are among the largest species of eagles now. These eagles survive near large water bodies and feed on waterfowl, fishes, and snails. They are quite the oldest eagles, and history tells us that these same eagles species even existed over 12 million years ago. The famous sea eagle kind includes the Steller sea eagle in Asia.
See More: Owl Species and Their Classification
Most Popular Different Types of Eagles in the World:
Now let us go ahead and check out the most popular and famous types and kinds of eagles in the species with pictures across the globe.
1. Bald Eagle:
The Bald Eagle is among the most famous type of Eagle known to the world, especially popular as the national bird of the USA. It is very easily recognizable and is present around North America, Canada, and Mexico. These eagles reside around forests, rivers, mountains, swamps and can weigh over 8 kg. the types of bald eagles have white feathers overhead and neck and brown color in the plumage.
2. Spanish Imperial Eagle:
The Spanish Imperial Eagle is also popular as Iberian Eagle, mostly around coastal areas and mountain ranges. These eagles size to over 80 cm, and their wings can reach over 2 meters. The Spanish Imperial Eagles are native to the Iberian Peninsula and have brown plumage with white bands. Unfortunately, these are right now among the vulnerable to extinct species.
3. Golden Eagle:
Golden eagles are largely present around Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America. They are even present in agricultural areas, lands, mountains and forests, and nest around the cliffs or top trees. These eagles have brown and golden color shades near heads, are easy to recognize. Their wings span over 2 meters and can weigh over 6 kgs.
4. Bonelli’s Eagle:
The Bonelli’s eagles belong to a native of South East Asia, around the Mediterranean basin. They are primarily present around mountainous areas and have brownish plumage with solid brown stripes on the body. The Bonelli’s have over 70cm in length and wings spanning over 180cm. Few countries in Europe have displayed the Bonelli’s as being in danger of extinction due to illegal hunting and habitat destruction.
5. Harpy Eagle:
The Harpy eagles are present around rainforest regions and jungles areas, and most of them around Northern Argentina and Central America regions. These eagles are among the enormous creatures present in their family and are regarded as the most powerful ones. They come in white and grey color shade plumage. Their wings are over 2 meters and are famous for their flying skills to catch prey.
6. Black and Chestnut Eagle:
The Black and Chesnut types of eagles belong to the South American continent and in the countries around Argentina and Venezuela. They reside in and around the forests and jungles of the Andes. These eagles have a very dark color shade plumage with black stripes, as the name suggests. The Black and Chesnut eagles are among those species that are at threat of extinction, given the destruction of forests and reducing space for their nesting.
7. Steller’s Sea Eagle:
The Stellar’s sea eagle belongs to various sea eagles that belong native to North-East Asia. They live around the surrounding coasts of Northeast Asia and are among the largest eagle species existing to date, besides the Harpy. This types of sea eagles have a wingspan of over 2.5 meters, one among the longest. They are easy to identify, with powerful yellow beaks and legs. The plumage and body are brown and white in the shade.
8. Crowned Eagle:
The crowned eagles belong to the Africa, sub-Saharan regions, native to the dense forests in and around the area. They are much smaller comparatively in size than the other eagles and have wings of around 1.8m. the crowned edge eagles have dark red color plumage with cream spots on them. They look a bit rounder and also shorter in size. These eagles often only move around and inside the forests themselves and do not enter outside, even hunting. They prey on mammals.
9. White-Tailed Eagle:
The white-tailed eagles belong to coastal regions of Asia and Northern Europe. They belong to the sea eagles family and hence are water birds. The white-tailed Eagle’s wings span over 2.5 meters and come with a lighter color of head plumage with white feathers on their tail areas. These eagles are popular to live very long, over 25 years.
10. Wedge-Tailed Eagle:
The wedge-tailed types of Eagles are native to Australia and Southern New Guinea. They nest on large trees which are over 30 meters tall or on the edge of cliffs. They are among the largest type of eagles, with reddish-brown plumage. The specialty of these eagles is that their plumage darkens with age.
11. Philippine Eagle:
As the name suggests, this Eagle is native to the Philippine forests. There are lesser-known eagles, with brown and white color shaded plumage with white feathers around head. These eagles depend mainly for food on monkeys and are popular even for their powerful flying capacities. Unfortunately, they are under extinction right now due to illegal hunting and pollution concerns.
12. Martial Eagle:
The Martial Eagles are the native birds to Sub-Saharan Africa, present around Savannahs and semi-open and forest areas. Their wingspan is over 2.6 meters and is among the largest eagle species present in Africa. This types of eagles hunt prey that is very popular, fierce, and powerful. These eagles have dark brown plumage and upper part.
Interesting Facts About Eagles:
As much as there are several eagles birds types present globally, there are few interesting facts about them too.
- The Eagle’s eyesight is more than eight times stronger than that of humans.
- Their eyes are pretty large, can occupy most of their head. They can see five colors and can even detect UV light.
- They have a firm grip, better than humans.
- Few eagles can even hunt large goats, foxes, and deer’s.
- The eagles are pretty strong, can carry heavy loads with them, as much as over 7 kgs.
These types of eagles are very popular and famous globally and are known to the fierce and powerful amongst all. We hope you enjoyed learning and finding about all about the kinds of eagles varieties and species today. What do you think? Let us know your thoughts?
Disclaimer:
This is exclusively a guide about types of Eagles for informative purposes only. The opinions and overview in this article are provided from various sources across the web. The author does not guarantee or promise any accuracy of facts provided in this article.
