The 10 most common types of eagles in China, how many do you know?

Today I’m going to talk to you about the topic of eagles. There are many types of eagles. There are more than 190 species in the world. There are more than 20 species common in Taiwan Province of my country, covering all eagle species in China. They are distributed in the mid- and low-altitude mountainous areas of Taiwan Island. , swamps, coasts, estuaries, feed on animals, and are birds of prey. Today I would like to introduce to you the 10 most common species of eagles living in our country. Do you know which ones they are? Let’s take a look together!

1. Goshawk. It is a medium-sized raptor. The body length can reach 60 centimeters and the wingspan is about 1.3 meters. The head, pillow and sides of the head are dark brown, with white feather tips on the pillow, and white eyebrow lines mixed with black lines; the back is brown and black; the lower part of the chest is densely covered with gray-brown and white horizontal stripes; the tail is gray-brown with 4 broad black horizontal spots, and the tail is dark brown. Square. When flying, the wings are broad and the underwings are white but densely covered with dark brown horizontal bands. The female bird is significantly larger than the male bird. It is carnivorous and mainly feeds on forest rats, hares, pheasants, hazel grouse, doves and pigeons and other small birds. Sharp vision and good at flying. Daytime activities. He is very alert and good at hiding.

2. Sparrowhawk. It is a small raptor, with a body length of 30-41 cm. The female is slightly larger than the male, with broad and round wings and a longer tail. The upper body of the male bird is dark gray, and the female bird is grayish brown, with a little white behind the head. The underparts are white or light grayish white, the male bird has fine reddish-brown horizontal spots, and the female bird has brown horizontal spots. The tail has 4-5 dark brown horizontal spots, the trailing edge of the wings is slightly protruding when flying, and the underwing feathers have several dark brown horizontal stripes. It feeds on small passerine birds, insects and rodents. It also preys on small galliform birds such as pigeons and hazel grouse. Sometimes it also preys on hares, snakes and insect larvae.

3. Red-bellied eagle. It is a small raptor with pointed and long wings. Because it looks like a dove, it is also called the dove hawk. Body length 27-36 cm, weight 108-132 g. The head to back is blue-gray, and the wings and tail feathers are gray-brown. It mainly feeds on animal foods such as frogs and lizards, but also eats small birds, rodents and insects. It mainly hunts on the ground, often standing on treetops and other high places, and when it sees prey, it suddenly rushes down to catch it.

4. Crested Eagle. It is a medium-sized raptor with a body length of 41-49 cm. The head is mouse gray from the forehead to the back of the neck, with a prominent crest of the same color as the head. The rest of the upper body is brown, and the tail has 4 broad dark horizontal spots. The throat is white, with a prominent black central stripe; the chest is tan, with white vertical stripes, and the rest of the underparts are white, with narrow tan horizontal spots; the undertail coverts are white; when flying, the wings are short and round, with prominent trailing edges, and flight feathers under the wings. There are several broad black horizontal bands. It is kind-hearted and alert by nature, and feeds on frogs, lizards, rodents, insects and other animal foods, as well as birds and small mammals.

5. Brown-eared Eagle. Much smaller than the goshawk, it is a small raptor, with a body length of 31-44 cm and a weight of 217-325 grams. The upper body is gray and the lower body has russet horizontal spots. The outer blade of the 6th primary flight feather is unnotched, and the 4 outer pairs of tail feathers have 5 dark brown horizontal spots. The eyes first have short white feathers. Ear feathers light grayish brown. The mouth is dark brown. Feet brown. It has keen vision. Once it spots prey in the forest or on the ground in the air, it pounces at the speed of an arrow, grabs the prey with its sharp claws, takes off again, and goes to a secluded place to tear up its food. The food is rodents, small birds and orthopteran insects.

6. Jayhawk. Small raptor, body length 28~38 cm. The upper body of the male bird is black and gray, with a white throat. There is a broad and thick black central stripe in the center of the throat. The rest of the lower body is white or off-white with brown or brown-red spots, and the tail has 4 dark horizontal spots. The female bird is larger, with dark brown upper body and white lower body with dark brown or auburn horizontal spots. Similar sparrowhawks are larger in size and have no dark brown central stripe on their throats; red-bellied hawks have black wing tips and no black central stripe on their throats; they feed on various small birds, as well as lizards, locusts, grasshoppers, beetles and other insects and small Rats and sometimes even small and medium-sized birds such as quail, doves and pigeons are hunted.

7. White-tailed sea eagle. It is a large raptor, with a body length of 84-91 cm. Adult birds are mostly dark brown; the feathers on the back neck and chest are lanceolate and longer; the head and neck feathers are lighter in color, sandy brown or light yellowish brown; the bill and feet are yellow, and the tail feathers are wedge-shaped and pure white. Active during the day, the calls of male and female birds are obviously different. They often fly alone or in pairs over large lakes and seas. In winter, there are sometimes small groups of 3-5 flying at high altitudes. It mainly feeds on fish and often flies at low altitude over the water. In addition, it also eats wild ducks, wild geese, swans, pheasants, rats, wild animals, roe deer, etc., and sometimes eats animal carcasses.

8. Forest sculpture. It is a medium-sized raptor with a body length of 67-81 cm, a wingspan of 164-178 cm, and a weight of 1000-1600 grams. The whole body is dark brown, with white spots under the eyes and before the eyes; the head, wings and tail are darker in color; the tail is longer, the upper tail coverts are light brown with white horizontal spots; the tail feathers have inconspicuous gray-brown horizontal spots. It preys on rats, snakes, lizards, frogs, pheasants and small birds, and also preys on the eggs and chicks of other birds. It is a rare resident bird in Taiwan, China.

9. Black Eagle. A species of the genus Accipitridae in the family Accipitridae. The male bird is 63cm long and the female bird is about 70cm. The body feathers are dark chestnut brown, with a metallic luster on the back. It inhabits grasslands and woodlands near wetlands. It mostly hunts in flight or lying on the ground, preying on hyrax, guinea fowl, monkeys, hares and other animals. Live in Northeast China, North China, East China, Central South China and Xinjiang.

10. Black Eagle. Also known as Huadiao and Xiaohuazaodiao, it is a national second-level protected animal. The black eagle has a body length of 61-74 cm and a weight of 1310-2100 grams. The whole body is dark brown, with a slightly purple luster on the back. The chin, throat and chest are dark brown, and the rest of the lower body is slightly lighter. They inhabit grasslands and woodlands near wetlands. They mostly hunt while flying or lying on the ground. They feed on fish, frogs, rats and other animals, as well as scarabs and locusts. Produced in Northeast, North, East, Central and South China and Xinjiang.

animal tags： Eagle raptor Accipitridae goshawk sparrowhawk