Okay, I have to admit, I thoroughly under-estimated the Wedge-Tailed Eagle until doing the research for this post. Sure, I knew it was a big, impressive bird, and a decent predator, but that doesn’t even begin to do it justice.

Here is a list of absolutely bonkers facts that I just learned about Australia’s largest bird of prey – the Wedge-Tailed Eagle.

• They can have wingspans of up to 3 metres.
• They predominantly eat mammals and marsupials, and have thrived with the introduction of rabbits and increased numbers of roadkill in recent history.
• They often soar up to 2km in the air, and sometimes much higher.
• They can see in ultravoilet and have eyesight three times better than humans.
• They have been known to attack hang gliders and paragliders who stray into their territory.
• They have been documented hunting over 200 different species of animal, with 14% of their prey being larger than 4kg.
• They often hunt in pairs (and very occasionally groups) to take down large prey.
• A pair of wedge-tails has been recorded taking out a 1.7m eastern grey kangaroo, and in extreme cases, groups of eagles have successfully hunted kangaroos weighing up to 60kg.

In other words, a group of wedgies could almost certainly take you out if they wanted to, they’ve just decided not to – probably because you don’t taste very nice.

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Wedge-Tailed Eagle (Aquila audax), Cape Crawford, Australia