🦅Photo: JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/) · CC BY-SA 3.0
🦅Wedge-tailed Eagle
The wedge-tailed eagle is the largest bird of prey in the continent of Australia. It is also found in southern New Guinea to the north and is distributed as far south as the state of Tasmania. Adults of the species have long, broad wings, fully feathered legs, an unmistakable wedge-shaped tail, an elongated upper mandible, a strong beak and powerful feet. The wedge-tailed eagle is one of 12 species of large, predominantly dark-coloured booted eagles in the genus Aquila found worldwide. Genetic research has clearly indicated that the wedge-tailed eagle is fairly closely related to other, generally large members of the Aquila genus. A large brown-to-black bird of prey, it has a maximum reported wingspan of 2.84 m and a length of up to 1.06 m.
Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
IUCN Red List assessment, 2025.
- Body mass
- 3.45 kg
- Body length
- not recorded
- Shoulder height
- not recorded
- Top speed
- not recorded
- Bite force
- not recorded
- Maximum lifespan
- 40 years
Everything we know about the Wedge-tailed Eagle
Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.
Body mass3.45 kgAVONETOther figures ↓Hide ↑
Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0
By sex
- Female3.81 kgWikidataQ752465
- Male3.13 kgWikidataQ752465
Figures vary
- 3.47 kgAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable
Tail length0.39 mAVONETDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0
Wing length0.62 mAVONETDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0
Beak length0.06 mAVONETDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0
Tarsus length0.1 mAVONETDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0
Maximum lifespan40 yearsAnAgeDetails ↓Hide ↑
data quality: acceptable
Source: AnAge · AnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR) · CC BY 3.0
Trophic levelCarnivoreAVONETDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0
HabitatWoodlandAVONETDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0
LifestyleGeneralistAVONETDetails ↓Hide ↑
Source: AVONET · v1.1 (Tobias et al. 2022) · CC BY 4.0
Volume l3.4 LaverageDetails ↓Hide ↑
Body mass at ~1.0 kg/L, the density of vertebrate tissue.
average = a mean across sexes or species in a group.
Not recorded for Wedge-tailed Eagle yet: body length, shoulder height, top speed, bite force.
Family tree
- kingdomAnimalia
- ›phylumChordata
- ›classAves
- ›orderAccipitriformes
- ›familyAccipitridae
- ›genusAquila
- ›speciesAquila audax
- orderSauria
- classBirds · Aves
- orderHawks & eagles · Accipitriformes
- familyAccipitridae
All 11 branches ↓Fewer branches ↑
- kingdomMetazoa
- phylumChordata
- subphylumCraniata
- subphylumVertebrata
- superclassGnathostomata
- superclassSarcopterygii
- superclassTetrapoda
- orderSauria
- classBirds · Aves
- orderHawks & eagles · Accipitriformes
- familyAccipitridae
More about the Wedge-tailed Eagle
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