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To: decimon

What about the extinct eagles that used to prey on the Moas!!?

From godless Wiki:Haast’s Eagles were the largest true raptors, outsizing even the largest living vultures. Females are believed to have weighed 10–15 kg (22–33 lb) and males 9–12 kg (20–26 lb). They had a relatively short wingspan of roughly 2.6–3 m (8 ft 6 in–9 ft 10 in). This wingspan was similar to that of some surviving eagles (the largest Golden Eagles and Steller’s Sea Eagles), though even the largest extant eagles are about 40% smaller in body size. Short wings may have aided Haast’s Eagle when hunting in the dense scrubland and forests of New Zealand. Haast’s Eagle is sometimes portrayed as having evolved towards flightlessness, but this is not so; rather, it represents a departure from its ancestors’ mode of soaring flight toward higher wing loading and increased maneuverability. The strong legs and massive flight muscles would have enabled the birds to take off with a jumping start from the ground, despite their great weight. The tail was almost certainly long (up to 50 cm (20 inches), in female specimens) and very broad, further increasing maneuverability and compensating for the reduction in wing area by providing additional lift.[3] Total length was perhaps up to 1.4 m (4 ft 7 in) in females, with a standing height of around 90 cm (2 ft 11 in) tall or even slightly more.

Haast’s Eagle preyed on large, flightless bird species, including the moa, which was up to 15 times its weight.[3] It attacked at speeds up to 80 km/h (50 mph), often seizing its prey’s pelvis with the talons of one foot and killing with a blow to the head or neck with the other. Its size and weight indicate a bodily striking force equivalent to a cinder block landing on a target from a height of 25 m (82 ft). Its large beak was used to rip into the internal organs and death was induced by blood loss. In the absence of other large predators or scavengers, a Haast’s Eagle could have easily monopolised a single large kill over a number of days.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haast%27s_Eagle


7 posted on 11/18/2009 9:36:14 AM PST by redstateconfidential (`)
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To: redstateconfidential

Apart from size, merlins are much the same. They feed on my bird feeder birds.


8 posted on 11/18/2009 10:26:40 AM PST by decimon
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