Owner Comments:
Up to this point in this set, there has been a focus on modern dinosaurs from North America, though there have been some from other places. This is largely due to the sheer number of high quality modern coins featuring avians to come from North American nations, particularly Canada. Also, North America is where I live, and it’s a lot of fun to write about modern dinosaurs that I actually get a chance to observe in their natural habitats. However, I also want this set to showcase birds from all over the world so here’s our first entry from Australia: the formidable Wedge-Tailed Eagle, species name Aquila audax.
The Wedge-Tailed Eagle is the largest raptor in Australia, occurring all across the continent and also calling parts of Indonesia and Papua New Guinea home. Like its close relative the Golden Eagle, the Wedge-Tailed Eagle is a very large, brown raptor. Wedge-Tailed Eagles can be from 2.6 to 3.5 feet long, with a wingspan from 6.8 feet to a maximum of 9.4 feet in the very largest females and a weight range between 6.6 to 12.7 pounds, though some small males can weigh considerably less than this with 4.4 pounds reported. As with most raptors, the female is larger than the male though their plumage and overall appearance aside from size are the same. The Wedge-Tailed Eagle gets its name from its distinctive, wedge-shaped tail, making this bird instantly recognizable in flight. The Wedge-Tailed Eagle also has very long legs compared to most raptors, possibly an adaptation to hunting some very large prey animals.
In Australia’s ecosystem, the Wedge-Tailed Eagle is the very definition of an apex predator. There are only five land animals on the whole continent that the Wedge-Tailed Eagle does not prey upon: The Freshwater Crocodile, the Saltwater Crocodile, humans, the Southern Cassowary, which is the most dangerous living bird, and White-Bellied Sea Eagles, though Wedge-Tails will fight with White-Bellied Sea Eagles for territory, food and other resources. Even the hatchlings and juveniles of the two crocodiles are sometimes taken by Wedge-Tails. Like its cousin the Golden Eagle, the Wedge-Tailed Eagle prefers to consume mammals and it consumes a wide range of them, from koalas and wombats up to dingos and kangaroos. They have also been seen successfully hunting and killing emus, making them one of only three major predators of these large and powerful birds. Like other eagles, the Wedge-Tail is a sight based hunter who locates its prey by soaring and scanning the ground. Their keen eyesight allows Wedge-Tails to see into the ultraviolet spectrum.
Wedge-Tailed Eagles, pound for pound, take some of the largest prey animals in relation to themselves of any extant predator on Earth. Like other members of the Aquila genus, the Wedge-Tailed Eagle is extremely intelligent and adaptable in its hunting strategies. They will use herding behaviors to move prey where they want it to go, team up to take on large and dangerous prey items, like the aforementioned emu, and they will also use natural features like cliffs, which they will either run animals off of or drag them off of to make a kill. When making a kill, the Wedge-Tail is once again similar to the Golden Eagle. Wedge-Tails kill with their feet, driving their talons into the prey’s neck and shoulders. They also prey ride to take down larger prey, digging their talons deeper into the prey while actually riding it and flapping their wings for stability until the prey is either paralyzed or dies from blood loss or organ failure.
This adaptability in hunting techniques and prey selection has led to the Wedge-Tailed Eagle taking a very important place in protecting Australia’s delicate and unique ecosystem. Wedge-Tails are the primary predators of rabbits, hares, foxes and feral cats, some of the most potentially damaging invasive species in Australia. Through their adaptability and preference for mammalian prey, the Wedge-Tailed Eagle keeps the populations of these species under control. Wedge-Tails will also extensively scavenge, given the opportunity. Being such a formidable predator allows the Wedge-Tail to drive off almost any other scavenger from a carcass aside from the two crocodiles mentioned previously and some bolder White-Bellied Sea Eagles. Wedge-Tailed Eagles have no predators.
Like most other raptors, Wedge-Tailed Eagles mate for life. Their courtship rituals include aerial displays, such as high-speed dives and loop-the-loops, and grooming of one another near their nesting site, which is usually a tall tree or a cliff edge. Wedge-Tail pairs typically produce two eggs, which both parents incubate for about 45 days, after which the eggs hatch. At first, the female stays with the chicks while the male does all of the hunting to provide for the family. Once the chicks are a month old, the female joins the male in hunting. Young Wedge-Tails can fly and hunt for themselves at around 6 months of age and they stay with their parents until the next breeding season. There is little indication of siblicidal behavior among Wedge-Tail chicks and both young typically survive. When Wedge-Tail pairs have young, they are fiercely territorial and defensive. They have even been noted attacking hang gliders and aerial drones during their breeding season. Wedge-Tailed Eagles reach maturity at 5 years of age and can live for over 40 years.
The Wedge-Tailed Eagle is a distinctive and beloved member of Australia’s unique ecosystem and it is an emblem for the Australian Northern Territory, the Australian Defense Force and the New South Wales police force. It is also a great modern dinosaur to be my first entry from the fascinating and unique nation of Australia. This great coin was another awesome gift from my life partner. She knows well my love of dinosaurs (both avian and non-avian) and raptors in particular. I'm so happy to finally have this great coin with one of my all time favorite raptors here in this set!