“Houston, Tranquility Base here. The ‘Eagle’ has landed.” These were the first words of Neil Armstrong as the manned lunar landing module called ‘Eagle” of Apollo-11 Space craft touched down on the surface of Moon on 20th July 1969.
Eagle is a symbol of power. US chose the Bald eagle as National Bird in 1782. It was also the first bird on a US stamp.
Eagles are divided into four main groups. Fish eagles (Bald eagle belongs to this group), Snake eagles, Booted or True eagles and Happy or Buteonine eagles.
Half of world’s bald eagles live in Alaska. They build large platform nests on tall treetops near lakes, marshes, rivers and seacoasts.
The Bald eagle’s nest is called “Eyrie”. It takes several months for the eagle to build the nest. Hundreds of branches and twigs go into the construction of the nest. The eagle uses the nest for several years. Every time before eggs are laid, the nest is strengthened with fresh twigs and branches. The nest can become huge in course of time. The largest nest of Bald eagle may reach a record size of 12 feet in height weighing more than two tons.
The Bald eagle is not really bald. It is named after its white feathers on head. It has a wingspan of eight feet. It weighs 15 pounds (7 kgs), two pounds more than the Golden eagle. Happy eagle of Peru weighs more than 18 pounds (8.2 kgs) and is the world’s most powerful birds of prey.
Eagles have expansive territories in which to hunt for prey. The Golden eagle’s territory extends over 90,000 sq.meters.
Eagles feed their chicks well. The Golden eagles feed their chicks with a hare or a grouse twice a day. Though the chicks receive good attention, not all will survive. The Imperial eagle lays one to three eggs. When three eggs are laid, the 3rd egg normally does not hatch. Even if it hatches, the nestling does not survive. In an attempt to protect the Imperial eagle from extinction Scientists began transferring the 3rd egg to active nests that contained only one egg. This has considerably increased the survival rate of the chicks.
Eagles figure in ancient mythologies. Garuda, the Eagle god is the Chariot of Lord Vishnu. In Greek mythology eagles represent beautiful winged women who transformed into ugly beings with sharp talons. The National bird of Panama, the happy eagle is named after them. The eagle was used as a model to create ‘Fawkes the Phoenix” for the movie, “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”.
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