Scientific Name of Eagle: Characteristics & Types of Eagles

Eagle is a large, powerful bird with a heavy beak and can be considered as the bird of prey. Though the Eagle may look similar to other birds of prey like Vulture or Buteo, we can easily identify it separately due to its feathered head and strong feet. Eagles are also considered to be the king of the birds. Because of their strength, they were considered as the birds of war in the ancient times.

Key Terms: Eagle, taxonomy, Accipitridae, fish eagle, booted eagle, harpy eagle, bird of prey.

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Taxonomy of Eagle

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There are various types of Eagles and they have different characteristics. Therefore, the scientific names of the Eagles vary from one type to the other. Before understanding their scientific names, let’s have a look at their basic taxonomy-

Life Cycle of Golden Eagle

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Characteristics of Eagle

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Here are the basic characteristics of an Eagle- 

• Eagles are known for their focused visions.
• They are fearless and tenacious, they are not afraid of the storms as well.
• Eagles are high-flyers, they can reach up to 10,000 ft. from the ground easily.
• They never eat dead meat.
• Eagles mate for life and they take care of their newborns.

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Types of Eagles with their Scientific Names

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More than 60 kinds of Eagles can be seen worldwide. But the most common types are-

1. Fish Eagle
2. Booted Eagle
3. Harpy Eagle
4. Snake Eagle
5. Golden Eagle
6. Bald Eagle

Different types of Eagles

1. Fish Eagle

Fish eagles are also known as the Sea Eagles. They belong to the Haliaeetus species. They mostly prey on fishes from the water surfaces all around the world. It is the National Bird of America. 

Some common characteristics of the Fish Eagles are-

• Fish Eagles are very large in size.
• They live near the water bodies.
• Steller’s Sea Eagles are the largest Sea Eagles.
• They weigh around 20 pounds (9Kgs)
• The Fish Eagles are white headed and brown bodied.
• Scientific name of these eagles are- Haliaeetus Vocifer

Fish Eagle, AKA Sea Eagles

2. Booted Eagle

These kinds of Eagles are called Booted Eagles as they have legs that look like they are wearing boots. Booted Eagles are mostly migratory birds that are commonly seen in the African and Asian continents. 

Here are some of the characteristics of the Booted Eagle-

• These eagles are medium in size and grow up to 40 cm. normally.
• Booted Eagles have feathered legs.
• They belong to the Accipitridae family.
• These eagles can weigh around 770-1000gm. 
• They are light gray in color with darker heads.
• Scientific Name of the Booted Eagles are- Hieraaetus Pennatus 

Booted Eagle

3. Harpy Eagle

Harpy Eagles are also known as the Giant Forest Eagle. They are huge in size and are named after the foul creatures from Greek mythology. This kind of eagle is mostly seen around tropical forests like Amazon forest. 

Here are the most important characteristics of the Harpy Eagles-

• Harpy Eagle belongs to the Harpiinae sub-family.
• This type of eagle can be huge with a height of around 3 ft. 
• They belong to an endangered and neotropical species.
• Harpy Eagles have dark feathers on their heads.
• The scientific name of these eagles are- Harpia Harpyja

Harpy Eagle in Comparison With The Height Of A Human

4. Snake Eagle

Snake Eagles are also known as the Serpent Eagles. They are well known for being solitary and least concerned. This kind of eagles mainly survives on snakes, chameleons and geckos. They are mostly seen in Africa. 

Here are some of the characteristics of these eagles-

• These eagles belong to the Accipitridae family.
• They have dark brown bodies and whitish gray flight feathers. 
• Madagascar Serpent Eagles are one of the rarest types of birds.
• Snake Eagles are medium in size and weigh around 2.5kgs. 
• Scientific name of the snake eagle is- Circaetus Cinereus.

Snake Eagle 

5. Golden Eagle

Golden Eagles are the most commonly found eagles that belong to the Accipitridae family. They are mostly found in the Northern Hemisphere and survived on hares, rabbits and ground squirrels mostly. According to ancient mythology these birds have great reverence. It is the National Bird of Mexico.

Here are the common characteristics of the Golden Eagles-

• The golden eagles are the fastest and largest birds in Northern America.
• They are dark brown in color with golden sheen at the back of their neck and head.
• They mostly live around the cliff areas.
• The Scientific name of the golden eagles are- Aquila Chrysaetos 

Golden Eagle

6. Bald Eagle

This kind of eagles are basically a subcategory of the sea eagles. They also survived on fish mostly. They too belong to the Haliaeetus species. Bald Eagles are considered as the opportunistic feeder.

Here are some of the common characteristics of Bald Eagles-

• The bald eagles have dark brown bodies with white tails and heads.
• They usually weigh around 4.5 kg.
• The largest bald eagles are found in Alaska, where the female bald eagle weighs around 7kg.
• Bald Eagle builds the largest nests.
• Scientific name of bald eagles is- Haliaeetus Leucocephalus

Bald Eagles

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Things to Remember

• Eagles are also known as- King of Birds.
• They are birds of prey and large in size.
• Harpy eagles are most furious and aggressive.
• Scientific name of Sea eagles are- Haliaeetus Vocifer
• Scientific name of Harpy eagles are- Harpia Harpyja
• Scientific name of the snake eagle is- Circaetus Cinereus
• Steller’s Sea Eagles are the largest Sea Eagles.
• Golden eagles are the most beautiful eagles.

Also Check: NCERT Solutions for Class 6 t 12

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