Aquila rapax

The tawny eagle (Aquila rapax) is a large bird of prey. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. Its heavily feathered legs illustrate it to be a member of the subfamily Aquilinae, also known as "booted eagles".Helbig, A. J., Kocum, A., Seibold, I., & Braun, M. J. (2005). A multi-gene phylogeny of aquiline eagles (Aves: Accipitriformes) reveals extensive paraphyly at the genus level. Molecular phylogenetics and evolution, 35(1), 147-164. Tawny eagles have an extensive but discontinuous breeding range that constitutes much of the African continent as well as the Indian subcontinent, with rare residency occurring in the southern Middle East. Throughout its range, it favours open dry habitats such as semideserts, deserts steppes, or savanna plains. Despite its preference for areas of aridity, the species seldom occurs in areas where trees are entirely absent.Hustler, K., & Howells, W. W. (1989). Habitat preference, breeding success and the effect of primary productivity on Tawny Eagles Aquila rapax in the tropics. Ibis, 131(1), 33-40. It is a resident breeder which lays one to three eggs in a stick nest mostly commonly in the crown of a tree.Naoroji, R., & Schmitt, N. J. (2007). Birds of prey of the Indian subcontinent. Om Books International. The tawny eagle is perhaps the most highly opportunistic of all of its taxonomic clan, and often scavenges on carrion or engages in kleptoparasitism towards other carnivorous animals but is also a bold and active predator, often of relatively large and diverse prey.Brown, Leslie and Amadon, Dean (1986) Eagles, Hawks and Falcons of the World. The Wellfleet Press. . It is estimated that tawny eagles can reach the age of 16 years old. Nonetheless, precipitous declines have been detected throughout the tawny eagle's range. Numerous factors, particularly loss of nesting habitat due to logging and global warming, as well as persecution (largely via poisoning) and other anthropogenic mortality (largely through contact with various manmade objects) are driving the once numerous tawny eagle perhaps to the brink of extinction.Ogada, D. L. (2014). The power of poison: pesticide poisoning of Africa's wildlife. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1322(1), 1-20.

No narrative description available for this taxon yet.