King of Birds

THE eagle, often known as the king of birds, is among the largest and most powerful of birds. Yet, it is not as bold and fierce as it appears. It eats whatever is easy to get, including dead animals or carrion.

Basically, it tries to avoid danger. It keeps away from man and attacks only when cornered or when defending its nest and young ones. Most fight with their powerful legs, feet and claws, but some bite.

No other bird, except the hawk, has eyesight as keen as the eagle’s. Its eyes are on either side of its head, but it is able to see straight ahead too. It can see details four times finer than a human being can. It can spot prey as small as a mouse from high in the sky and is able to assess the distance accurately. This enables it to swoop down swiftly, pounce on the animal and fly with it back to its nest.

The eagle’s nest, known as an eyrie, is one of the largest of all birds’ nests. It may be built on top of a tall tree or a cliff or even on the ground. It uses the same nest every year. Some eagles make two nests and use them alternately. The size of the nest increases with time as the bird renovates its nest each year just before the newly-born eaglets arrive. A freshly-built nest may measure only around 90 cm, but an old nest can be as large as 3 m across and 4 m deep.

The female lays two eggs every year. Although both the eggs hatch, very rarely do both survive. The eaglet that hatches first is larger. It grabs more than its share of food and constantly pecks at the other until it dies.

Eagles living in the wild survive for 20 to 30 years, while those in captivity may live up to 50 years.

The birds are found e v e r y where except in Antarctica, but most of the 60 species are found in Africa and Eurasia.The harpy eagle, Philippine eagle and Steller's sea eagle are among the largest and heaviest of eagles. The bald eagle is the national symbol of USA. There are 22 species in India, including fish and sea eagles, hawk eagles and serpent eagles.

FUN FACT

THE month of February is named after the ancient Roman Festival of Februa when sinners confessed their sins and were forgiven.

Actor Ranvir Shorey on Wednesday informed that he has tested Covid positive, adding he has mild symptoms and has quarantined. “I have tested positive for #COVID19. Symptoms are mild. Am quarantining,” Ranvir tweeted on Wednesday. On the work front, Ranvir features in the recently released second season of the web series Metro Park, in which he plays the popular character Kalpesh Patel.