ML126196161

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

immature bird perched on dead tree near road. Later vocalized (plaintive whistle). After we turned back to car, the eagle took off due to an attack by a White-tailed Hawk which dive-bombed the eagle in the air. We watched both birds circle. Photographed by Dan and Bennett. Perched, the eagle had a dark (gray) back, white band in tail with dark terminal band, short tail with primaries extending beyond tail, pale head and underparts, with dark mask/line through eye. Crown feathers looked like they had dark centers, formed shaggy nape with slight crest poking out back; bill had dark tip and pale section near face; long legs. In flight, bird was huge, probably twice size of White-tailed Hawk and reminiscent of a condor, showed molt in primaries (?review photos). Critically Endangered. Although we did not expect to see it, there have been other sightings of this species in nearby Guararema. Also known as Crowned Solitary Eagle.

Technical information

Model

Canon EOS 7D

Lens

EF400mm f/5.6L USM

ISO

640

Focal length

400 mm

Flash

Flash did not fire, auto

f-stop

f/5.6

Shutter speed

1/8000 sec

Dimensions

2192 pixels x 1576 pixels

Original file size

2.18 MB