The present-day range of the pronghorn extends from southern Saskatchewan and Alberta in Canada south into the United States through Montana, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Arizona, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Washington, and central Texas west to coastal southern California and northern Baja California Sur, to Sonora and San Luis Potosí in northern Mexico. They have been extirpated from Iowa and Minnesota in the United States and from Manitoba in Canada.
A subspecies known as the Sonoran pronghorn (A. a. sonoriensis) occurs in Arizona and Mexico. Other subspecies include the Mexican pronghorn (A. a. mexicana), the Oregon pronghorn (A. a. oregona), and the critically endangered Baja California pronghorn (A. a. peninsularis).
Pronghorns prefer open, expansive terrain at elevations varying between 900 and 1,800 m (3,000 and 5,900 ft), with the densest populations in areas receiving around 250–400 mm (10–15+1⁄2 in) of rainfall per year. They eat a wide variety of plant foods, often including plants unpalatable or toxic to domestic livestock, though they also compete with them for food. In one study, forbs comprised 62% of their diet, shrubs 23%, and grasses 15%, while in another, cacti comprised 40%, grass 22%, forbs 20%, and shrubs 18%. Pronghorns also chew and eat (ruminate) cud.
Healthy pronghorn populations tend to stay within 5.0–6.5 km (3–4 mi) of a water source.
An ongoing study by the Lava Lake Institute for Science and Conservation and the Wildlife Conservation Society shows an overland migration route that covers more than 260 km (160 mi). The migrating pronghorn start travel from the foothills of the Pioneer Mountains through Craters of the Moon National Monument to the Continental Divide. Dr. Scott Bergen of the Wildlife Conservation Society says "This study shows that pronghorn are the true marathoners of the American West. With these new findings, we can confirm that Idaho supports a major overland mammal migration - an increasingly rare phenomenon in the U.S. and worldwide."
Cougars (Puma concolor), wolves (Canis lupus), coyotes (Canis latrans), grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) and bobcats (Lynx rufus) are major predators of pronghorns. Golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) have been reported to prey on fawns and adults. Jaguars (Panthera onca) also likely prey on pronghorns in their native range in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico.


Pronghorns form mixed-sex herds in the winter. In early spring, the herds break up, with young males forming bachelor groups, females forming harems, and adult males living solitarily. Some female bands share the same summer range, and bachelor male bands form between spring and fall. Females form dominance hierarchies with few circular relationships. Dominant females aggressively displace other females from feeding sites.
Adult males either defend a fixed territory that females may enter, or defend a harem of females. A pronghorn may change mating strategies depending on environmental or demographic conditions. Where precipitation is high, adult males tend to be territorial and maintain their territories with scent marking, vocalizing, and challenging intruders. In these systems, territorial males have access to better resources than bachelor males. Females also employ different mating strategies. "Sampling" females visit several males and remain with each for a short time before switching to the next male at an increasing rate as estrous approaches. "Inciting" females behave as samplers until estrous, and then incite conflicts between males, watching and then mating with the winners. Before fighting, males try to intimidate each other. If intimidation fails, they lock horns and try to injure each other. "Quiet" females remain with a single male in an isolated area throughout estrous. Females continue this mating behavior for two to three weeks.
When courting an estrous female, a male pronghorn approaches her while softly vocalizing and waving his head side to side, displaying his cheek patches. The scent glands on the pronghorn are on either side of the jaw, between the hooves, and on the rump. A receptive female remains motionless, sniffs his scent gland, and then allows the male to mount her.
Pronghorns have a gestation period of 7–8 months, which is longer than is typical for North American ungulates. They breed in mid-September, and the doe carries her fawn until late May. The gestation period is around six weeks longer than that of the white-tailed deer.  Females usually bear within a few days of each other. Twin fawns are common. Newborn pronghorns weigh 2–4 kg (4–9 lb), most commonly 3 kg (7 lb). In their first 21–26 days, fawns spend time hiding in vegetation. Fawns interact with their mothers for 20–25 minutes a day; this continues even when the fawn joins a nursery. The females nurse, groom, and lead their young to food and water, as well as keep predators away from them. Females usually nurse the young about three times a day. Males are weaned 2–3 weeks earlier than females. Sexual maturity is reached at 15 to 16 months, though males rarely breed until three years old. Their lifespan is typically up to 10 years, rarely 15 years.


At the turn of the 20th century, members of the wildlife conservation group Boone and Crockett Club had determined that the extinction of the pronghorn was likely. In a letter from George Bird Grinnell, Boone and Crockett Club chairman of the game preservation committee, to Walter L. Fisher, Secretary of the Interior, Grinnell stated, "The Club is much concerned about the fate of the pronghorn which appears to be everywhere rapidly diminishing." By the 1920s, hunting pressure had reduced the pronghorn population to about 13,000. Boone and Crockett Club member Charles Alexander Sheldon, in a letter to fellow member Grinnell, wrote, "Personally, I think that the antelope are doomed, yet every attempt should be made to save them." Although the club had begun their efforts to save the pronghorn in 1910 by funding and restocking the Wichita Game Refuge in Oklahoma, the National Bison Range in Montana, and the Wind Cave National Park, in South Dakota, most of the efforts were doomed since experience demonstrated that after initial increases the pronghorns would die off because of the fenced enclosures. In 1927, Grinnell spearheaded efforts along with the help of T. Gilbert Pearson of Grinnell's National Audubon Society to create the Charles Alexander Sheldon Antelope Refuge in northern Nevada. About 2900 acres of land were jointly purchased by the two organizations and subsequently turned over to the Biological Survey as a pronghorn refuge. This donation was contingent upon the government's adding 30,000 acres of surrounding public lands. On June 20, 1929, United States President Herbert Hoover included the required public lands upon request of the Department of Agriculture and the Department of the Interior after learning that the Boone and Crockett Club and the National Audubon Society were underwriting the private land buyout. On January 26, 1931, Hoover signed the executive order for the refuge. On December 31, 1936, President Franklin Roosevelt signed an executive order creating a 222,000-hectare (549,000-acre) tract; this was the true beginning for pronghorn recovery in North America.
The protection of habitat and hunting restrictions have allowed pronghorn numbers to recover to an estimated population between 500,000 and 1,000,000 since the 1930s. Some recent decline has occurred in a few localized populations, due to bluetongue disease which is spread from sheep, but the overall trend has been positive.
Pronghorn migration corridors are threatened by habitat fragmentation and the blocking of traditional routes. In a migration study conducted by Lava Lake Institute for Science and Conservation and the Wildlife Conservation Society, at one point, the migration corridor bottlenecks to an area only 200 yards wide.
Pronghorns are now quite numerous, and outnumbered people in Wyoming and parts of northern Colorado until just recently. They are legally hunted in western states for purposes of population control and food. No major range-wide threats exist, although localized declines are taking place, particularly to the Sonoran pronghorn, mainly as a result of livestock grazing, the construction of roads, fences, and other barriers that prevent access to historical habitat, illegal hunting, insufficient forage and water, and lack of recruitment.
Three subspecies are considered endangered in all (A. a. sonoriensis, A. a. peninsularis), or part of their ranges (A. a. mexicana). The Sonoran pronghorn has an estimated population of fewer than 300 in the United States and 200–500 in Mexico, while there are approximately 200 Peninsula pronghorn in Baja California. Populations of the Sonoran pronghorn in Arizona and Mexico are protected under the Endangered Species Act (since 1967), and a recovery plan for this subspecies has been prepared by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Mexican animals are listed on CITES Appendix I. Pronghorns have game-animal status in all of the western states of the United States, and permits are required to trap or hunt pronghorns.


The Florida softshell turtle is found primarily in the state of Florida, but it also ranges to southern sections of South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. It is the only species of softshell turtle whose range spans the entire Florida peninsula. They are native to the southeastern United States. Out of the Trionychidae family, the Florida softshell occupies the smallest range


The Florida softshell turtle is a widespread species and occupies almost every freshwater habitat, even tolerating some brackish environments; however, it is not often found in water with strong currents, preferring habitats with slow-moving or still water. These different habitats include swamps, lakes, marshes, wet prairies, small rivers, creeks, and even ponds formed in man-made ditches or sinkholes.


The Florida softshell turtle is a large turtle with a flattened, pancake-like body, a long neck, an elongated head with a long snorkel-like nose, and large webbed feet, each with three claws. While most turtles have hard shells composed of scutes, the Florida softshell has a cartilaginous carapace covered in leathery skin. Ranging from olive green to dark brown, it has the darkest coloration of all the softshell species that inhabit Florida (other species include Apalone mutica calvata and Apalone spinifera aspera). It is also characterized by a white or cream-colored underside. This color pattern is known as countershading and is a form of camouflage to conceal turtles from potential predators. It is also the largest species of softshell turtle found in Florida and all of North America, ranging from 15 to 76 cm (5.9 to 29.9 in) in length. The Florida softshell also exhibits significant sexual size dimorphism. Adult females are often 3-5x larger than males. Males have a carapace length and body weight averaging about 35 cm (14 in) and 2.68 kg (5.9 lb) respectively. Nesting adult females were found to average 6.65 kg (14.7 lb) in weight and measure 40.1 cm (15.8 in) in carapace length, with the record weight documented at 43.6 kg (96 lb). However, males tend to have longer tails than their female counterparts (3 cm longer than a female of the same size). Hatchlings have a lighter carapace with yellow and orange markings and a carapacial rim. Stripes in the same color are also found on the face and neck. Their plastron is generally dark in color. As the turtle ages, these colors fade and are lost, resulting in the dark-brown coloration characteristic of adults.


The Florida softshell turtle is almost entirely aquatic, only emerging from the water to bask or to lay eggs. In the water, it prefers to bury itself in the sandy/muddy substrate. Like all softshells, it is very fast-moving in water and on land. While this species is omnivorous, its diet consists largely of meat, consuming mainly fish, insects, crustaceans, frogs and mollusks. It may also scavenge.


With a primarily carnivorous diet, adult Florida softshell turtles function as major predators in their aquatic ecosystems. Sitting high on the trophic scale, they generally function as secondary or tertiary consumers. However, alligators have been known to prey on the adults of the Florida softshell turtle, and raptors may take juveniles. Nest predators include the fish crow, foxes, raccoons, skunks, and river otters. At various lakes across the state of Florida (Okeechobee, Apopka, Griffin, and Jesup) scientists have observed Florida softshell females, as well as other turtle species (Pseudemys nelsoni, Kinosternon sp., and Sternotherus odoratus) laying their eggs in American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) nests during the summer months. While the turtles may utilize vacant nests more often, they have also been known to lay eggs in occupied alligator nests. They use these nests more often in areas with limited nesting habitats and/or during years with heavier precipitation when high water levels and flooding further reduce the number of suitable nesting sites. Despite the Florida softshell's use of alligator nests, studies have shown the highest abundance of Florida softshell turtles to persist in lakes with little to no alligators as well as high primary productivity, suggesting a combination of top-down and bottom-up influences on softshell populations.


The Florida softshells are carnivores with their main diet consisting of small snails and fish (Rafinesque, Constantine S. 1832). They also eat amphibians, insects, and mollusks and some waterfowl. These turtles will hunt, chase, and scavenge for prey.


The spiny softshell turtle's scientific name is very descriptive of the animal. Apalone comes from the Greek word apalos, meaning soft or tender, and spinifera is of Latin origin; spina- referring to thorn or spine and -ifer meaning bearing. This species is a member of the family Trionychidae, and one of the most distinguishing features of members in this family is the presence of a leathery, moderately flexible carapace. This is caused by loss of keratinized scutes and some bony tissue loss. Spiny softshell turtles have webbed feet, each with three claws. Another distinguishing feature of softshell turtles is the presence of a fleshy, elongated nose.
The carapace (the upper part of the shell) ranges from brown or yellow-brown to olive in color, while the plastron (lower part of the shell) is lighter, usually white or yellow. Hatchlings usually have dark spots on the carapace, but as females age, they frequently become darker in color, or their carapace becomes splotched. Males tend to maintain the same coloration pattern from birth. Coloration also varies between each subspecies, and the exact coloration can also depend on an individual turtle's environment. Spiny softshell turtles are cryptically colored, meaning that their coloration helps them blend in with their surrounding environment.
Spiny softshell turtles also have pale lines bordered by black lines running from its head down the side of its neck. The carapace length ranges from 18 to 54 cm, with females growing larger than males. The namesake spines are found along the anterior border of the carapace and are more commonly found in males. The variation in coloration, size, and spine presence indicates that this species exhibits sexual dimorphism.


Spiny softshell turtles are often referred to as ecological generalists, meaning that they are found in a wide variety of habitats. The spiny softshell can be found in bodies of fresh water including ponds, lakes, rivers, tributaries, and streams. They inhabit shallow water (less than 1 m deep), but can also be found as far as 10 m deep. They can be found in areas with varying levels of vegetation, and although they are generally found in more slow-moving waters, this species abundance is greatest in waters with higher visibility and slower water velocity  Spiny softshells prefer waters with sandy bottoms and clean, sandy banks. Sandy environments are important for nesting sites, proper juvenile growth and development, and camouflage.
Spiny softshells migrate between warm and cold seasons. In each season, turtles generally stay in a single zone, and they move more within their zone during warm months. The spiny softshell will migrate between their zones and their average home range length is 10.8 km
As far as home range, a study of the “Eastern Spiny” subspecies (which has the largest and most northern-reaching distribution) home range behaviour found that turtles of northern Lake Champlain generally had 2 annual concentration areas for spring-summer and fall-winter, contributing to a large home range (Galois, 2002). Mean annual home range was also found, in the same study, to be over 10x larger for female softshells compared to males.


Spiny softshell turtles feed on a variety of food items. They are primary consumers and feed on invertebrates (crayfish and aquatic insects), fish, algal stocks and other plant material, and mussels. They are generally observed as benthic feeders; they can either actively hunt prey or bury themselves in the sand and wait to ambush prey.
Some evidence suggests that Spiny Softshell turtles exhibit a nuclear-follower foraging association with fish. A study that took place in an Urban Drainage Canal in Louisiana found that when foraging, Spiny Softshell turtles were observed moving along the creek bottom thrusting their probosces into the substrate which then allowed fish to enter the suspended sediment and capture prey otherwise unavailable to the fish. The fish benefit from increased foraging success, while few benefit accrue to the foraging turtles.


The species was first described by Charles Alexandre Lesueur in 1827. It has been redescribed numerous times, leading to some confusion in its taxonomy. There are multiple subspecies recognized across North America; including the Eastern Spiny Softshell, Gulf Coast Spiny Softshell, Texas Spiny Softshell, Guadalupe Spiny Softshell, and the Pallid Spiny Softshell. The recognized subspecies differ in the markings on their carapaces, on the sides of their heads, and on their feet. These markings, which are distinct as hatchlings, fade as the turtles grow larger. Adult females of the various subspecies, which grow larger than males, are not easily distinguishable from one another, and sometimes can only be assigned to a particular subspecies based on geography.


Spiny softshells begin mating between ages 8 and 10. A large female turtle may live up to 50 years. The turtles mate in mid-to-late spring in deep water. The male will nudge the female's head while swimming, and if she chooses to mate, the male will swim above the female without clasping her with his claws (unlike other turtles). A few months later, the female turtle quickly lays her eggs along a sunny sandbar or gravel bank in a flask-shaped cavity she has dug close to the water. This nesting behavior typically begins around July with the females leaving the water and probing the ground with her snout to find the spot to lay her eggs. The turtle nests more than once during a single season. She can lay between 9 and 38 round, calcareous-shelled eggs. The eggs are laid around July and September, and they hatch in the spring. In studies observing nesting behavior, it has been found that the females are more likely to lay eggs on days where there is a small difference between the air and water temperatures. Unlike in other turtles, in the spiny softshell turtle, the sex of the hatchlings is not determined by temperature variations; it is determined by genetics. Although they are not listed on the IUCN Red List in the United States, they are listed as endangered in Canada. This is due to high predation on eggs and low hatchling survival rates.


Forewing dull lilac grey, flushed with fawn colour, especially in median area; a black, semibifid streak from base below cell; lines brownish, double, indistinct; the median shade dark grey or fawn colour, diffuse and prominent; orbicular stigma pale, black-edged; reniform large with grey centre, blackish in lower lobe, with pale annulus and black outline; claviform small, with dark outline; submarginal line dull, with darker shades in places on each side; hindwing greyish fuscous, paler towards base; — in basistriga Stgr. the ground colour is bluish grey except the median area, and the black basal streak is stronger; this form is recorded from western Turkestan, eastern Siberia, Japan, and China, also from Norway; a small series from Pescocostanzo,
Italy, seems referable here; — ab. grisescens Stgr. from Tibet and Turkestan is altogether paler and greyer; — ab. unicolor Tutt is a melanistic form from the north of England, in which the ground is dark reddish brown with a purplish tinge, the stigmata and lines more or less obscured; hindwing much darker; — pallida Tutt and cinerascens Tutt are both grey forms without any rufous admixture, the former being pale ochreous grey, and the latter dull ashy grey, the one from Ireland, the other from northern England; this latter form probably occurs, however, in other localities, and is distinct from Staudinger's
Central Asiatic form grisescens, for which Spuler quotes Finland and Esthland with a ? as localities. .
Its flight season in the British Isles is May and June.

The larva feeds on various grasses, including oats, fescues, barleys, canarygrasses, timothy, ryes, wheats, and wild rice. This species overwinters as a larva, feeding in mild weather throughout the season. it is grey brown with black tubercles; dorsal line broad, whitish; subdorsal finer; spiracular line broadly whitish, edged above with dark; feeding when quite young in autumn in the grains of corn and after hibernation in the fresh lower leaves and on grasses.
Its habitat includes fields, grasslands, and steppe.


The parthenice tiger moth (Apantesis parthenice) is a moth of the  family Erebidae. It is found in south-eastern Canada, and the eastern United States. The moths are common in fields and woodland edges from June to late September. The moth is nocturnal and is attracted to light sources.
The wingspan is about 7.5 cm (3 in). The fore wings and the thorax are black, with a complex network of bold white veining and white margins. The hind wings and abdomen are orange-pink with black patches. The brightly striped pattern of the wings has inspired the common name of tiger moth. Their bodies are stout and furry.
Caterpillars of the species are dark with contrasting bright markings and covered with stiff hairs. They are toxic like the adults. Many species of tiger moths contain toxic substances, so the bright patterns of both adults and larvae serve as a warning to predators. Contact with the hairy bodies of these caterpillars can cause skin irritation. Tiger moths have a well-developed hearing organ, or tympanum, on each side of the thorax. The larvae feed on various low-growing plants, including dandelion, Vernonia, and thistles.
This species was formerly a member of the genus Grammia, but was moved to Apantesis along with the other species of the genera Grammia, Holarctia, and Notarctia.


The chicks start off fully gray. The older they get, the more they turn blue. On their heads, chicks tend to have a red crest that resembles a comb. The chick will lose its crest at day seven, just like the way the baby chickens lose their egg tooth at 5–7 days. Nests are built low in trees or bushes, 1–10 m (3.3–32.8 ft) above the ground, primarily by the female, while the male guards her efforts. The nests are sturdy, with an outside diameter of 33–58 cm (13–23 in), constructed on a platform of twigs with moss and dry grasses lined with fine roots and hair. Four to six eggs are laid from March through July, with some regional variations. There are two common shell color variations: pale green with irregular, olive-colored spots or markings; and pale grayish-white to green with reddish-brown spots. The female incubates the eggs for about 16 days. The young leave the nest about 18 days after hatching.


The Florida scrub jay is found only in Florida scrub habitat, an ecosystem that exists only in central Florida and in limited areas along the Atlantic coast, and is characterized by nutrient-poor soil, occasional drought, and frequent wildfires. Because of its being isolated from the mainland as an island ("Orange Island") 34 to 28 million years ago  and somewhat harsh weather pattern, this habitat in isolation evolved to host, not only the Florida scrub jay endemic only to Florida but also a small assortment of very ancient specific plants, including sand pine, sand live oak, myrtle oak, Chapman's oak, sandhill oak, Florida rosemary and various other hardy plants such as Eastern prickly pear.
Florida scrub jays are omnivorous and eat a wide variety of acorns, seeds, peanuts, insects, tree frogs, turtles, snakes, lizards, and young mice. They have also been occasionally observed to eat other birds' eggs or nestlings, but this occurs rarely. They routinely cache thousands of acorns a year, burying them just beneath the surface. The acorns are typically buried in the fall and consumed during the winter and spring. Acorns that are forgotten or missed may germinate, making the Florida Scrub-Jay an effective agent for the dispersal of a variety of oak trees.
Scrub jays may also take silverware and other shiny objects in a manner similar             to the American crow.


Florida scrub jays are one of the few cooperative breeding birds in North America. Fledglings remain in their parents' habitat for several years and help to rear young, watch for predators (such as short-tailed hawks or Accipiters), and defend territory against neighboring Florida scrub jay family groups. These families can range in size from 2 to 8.
 After about 2 to 3 years, fledglings leave the group to form mating pairs of their own. Mating season ranges from March to June. Clutches usually contain about 3 to 4 eggs which are incubated in about 17 days. Fledging occurs in about 16 to 19 days. Fledglings can be distinguished from the adult birds due to the coloration of the feathers on their head, which are brown instead of blue. The brown feathers on the juvenile's head are slowly replaced by blue feathers as the bird matures into adulthood.


An inquisitive and intelligent species, the most striking attribute of the Florida scrub jay's behavior is its remarkable tameness. As such, scrub jays willingly take food from human hands.
Unfortunately, this tameness is dangerous to the well-being of the species. Florida scrub jays that are fed by humans will reproduce earlier in the year than those that are not.  However, fledgling scrub jays feed primarily on caterpillars present in the late spring and summer; if they hatch too early in the year when the caterpillars are not available, this can lead to their malnutrition or starvation.
Another potential danger of feeding Florida scrub jays occurs when people feed them near a road, as one major cause of death for scrub jays in urban areas is collision with vehicles.
Since humans build subdivisions, railroads, and highways on the highest and driest ground, where Florida scrub jays like to live, this removal of habitats, along with the introduction of pets, especially cats not on a leash, has devastated scrub jay populations. In the last 100 years, 90% of the bird's population has been lost.


The Mexican jay (Aphelocoma wollweberi)  formerly known as the gray-breasted jay, is a New World jay native to the Sierra Madre Oriental, Sierra Madre Occidental, and Central Plateau of Mexico and parts of the southwestern United States. In May 2011, the American Ornithologists' Union voted to split the Mexican jay into two species, one retaining the common name Mexican jay and one called the Transvolcanic jay. The Mexican jay is a medium-sized jay with blue upper parts and pale gray underparts. It resembles the Woodhouse's scrub-jay, but has an unstreaked throat and breast. It feeds largely on acorns and pine nuts, but includes many other plant and animal foods in its diet. It has a cooperative breeding system where the parents are assisted by other birds to raise their young. This is a common species with a wide range and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has rated its conservation status as being of "least concern".


A recent decision by the American Ornithologists' Union Check-list Committee elevated some populations of the Mexican jay to a separate species, called the Transvolcanic jay (A. ultramarina), based on diagnosable phenotypic differences in plumage and morphology, millions of years of genetic divergence and no evidence for interbreeding with Mexican jays. The Transvolcanic jay inhabits montane forest in the Transvolcanic Belt of central Mexico. Populations to the north retained the common name Mexican jay, but the Latin name changed to A. wollweberi. This was because the type specimen was a Transvolcanic jay, meaning that this species had precedent for the original Latin name A. ultramarina.
Thus, as of this decision, there are now five described subspecies of the Mexican jay that are divided into three divergent groups (see below). Marked differences in size, color, vocalizations, and genetics have led some authors to consider at least two of these groups as separate species (Eastern and Western; Navarro-Sigüenza and Peterson 2004). The three groups inhabit three distinct mountainous regions in northern and central Mexico. Genetic breaks in mitochondrial and microsatellite DNA occur abruptly between the groups, indicating some barriers to genetic exchange (McCormack et al. 2008). Size variation among the groups does not always follow Bergmann's rule, with more southerly populations in the Sierra Madre Oriental being larger than populations to the north. Mexican jays do not seem to follow Gloger's rule either, as populations in arid habitat in southwestern Texas are very blue. On the other hand, Mexican jays in Arizona - also arid habitat - have a washed-out appearance, in accordance with Gloger's rule.
Western group
Sierra Madre Occidental in northern [Jalisco] north to central Arizona and southwestern New Mexico. Southern and eastern limits in Jalisco deserve further study. Juveniles have a pink/pale base to the otherwise black bill for up to two years. Eggs are pale green-blue and unspeckled, unlike Eastern group where speckled eggs are common.
Aphelocoma wollweberi gracilis
Eastern Nayarit and northern Jalisco
Smallest of the Western subspecies with a distinct, high-pitched vocalization.
Aphelocoma wollweberi wollweberi
Durango and Zacatecas
Intermediate in size.
Aphelocoma wollweberi arizonae
Sonora and Chihuahua north to Arizona and New Mexico, United States
Largest and palest of all the subspecies.
Eastern group
Sierra Madre Oriental in Nuevo León and western Tamaulipas north to Texas (Chisos Mountains). Juveniles have an all-black exterior to the bill after fledging, but roof of inner upper mandible can remain partially white for up to two years. Reports of less social behavior compared to other groups are over-stated and credible accounts of cooperative breeding (Ligon and Husar 1974) and large flock sizes (Bhagabati and Horvath 2006) exist. Plain, speckled, and even white eggs have been observed in a single study area (McCormack and Berg 2010).
Aphelocoma wollweberi couchii
Smaller than preceding. Population of the latter subspecies distinguishable by more contrasting markings and ecological preferences (lowland birds). Egg color may range from plain blue to Nile blue with pale brownish speckling, most heavy on blunt half. Gives rattle call similar to Cyanocitta and other Aphelocoma jays.
Central Plateau group

Central Plateau in Queretaro, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosi, and eastern Jalisco. Similar to Eastern group but larger in most features. Distinguishable in morphology and plumage in ~80% of specimens. There is an area of apparent hybridization in San Luis Potosi that deserves study.
Aphelocoma wollweberi potosina


The Mexican jay is a medium-large (~120 g) passerine similar in size to most other jays, with a blue head, blue-gray mantle, blue wings and tail, and pale gray breast and underparts. The sexes are morphologically similar, and juveniles differ only in having less blue coloration and, in some populations, a pink/pale (instead of black) bill that progressively becomes more black with age (Brown and Horvath 1989). Some field guides misreport this color as yellow because the pale bill becomes yellow in museum study skins.  The iris is brown and legs are black. It is most readily distinguished from the similar Woodhouse's scrub-jay by the plain (unstreaked) throat and breast, and the mantle contrasting less with the head and wings. Its range somewhat overlaps with the Woodhouse's scrub-jay, but, where they co-occur, the two species seem to show ecological and morphological character displacement (Curry et al. 2002).


In the winter, the Mexican jay's diet consists mainly of acorns and pine nuts, which are stored in the autumn. However, they are omnivorous in all seasons and their diet includes a wide variety of plant and animal matter, including invertebrates, small amphibians and reptiles, and birds' eggs and nestlings (McCormack and Brown 2008).
It has a cooperative breeding system similar to that of the related Florida scrub-jay, with several birds helping at a nest; these "helpers" are usually immature offspring of the dominant pair from the previous 1–2 years, but also include apparently unrelated flock members.


A. hentzi is a rather docile and nonaggressive species. When disturbed, like most other tarantulas, A. hentzi maneuvers itself to a stance on its hind legs and raises its front legs in a threatening manner. Additionally, A. hentzi and most other tarantulas found in the Americas have small, coarse, brown or black urticating hairs on their abdomens that they kick in the direction of whatever they may feel threatens them. It is the main species preyed upon by the tarantula hawk, Pepsis grossa, in areas where the two species overlap.
Bites from the Texas brown tarantula, as with all New World tarantulas, are generally not a serious harm to humans except in the case of an allergic reaction. Due to the large size of their fangs, the puncture wound from a bite can also be painful and lead to secondary infection if not properly treated.


The distribution of A. hentzi includes  Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Texas, and Louisiana in the U.S. The species has also been documented in the northern parts of Mexico, extending along the New Mexico and Texas borders.


Unlike most other bee species, western honey bees have perennial colonies which persist year after year. Because of this high degree of sociality and permanence, western honey bee colonies can be considered superorganisms. This means that reproduction of the colony, rather than individual bees, is the biologically significant unit. Western honey bee colonies reproduce through a process called "swarming".
In most climates, western honey bees swarm in the spring and early summer, when there is an abundance of blooming flowers from which to collect nectar and pollen. In response to these favorable conditions, the hive creates one to two dozen new queens. Just as the pupal stages of these "daughter queens" are nearly complete, the old queen and approximately two-thirds of the adult workers leave the colony in a swarm, traveling some distance to find a new location suitable for building a hive (e.g., a hollow tree trunk). In the old colony, the daughter queens often start "piping", just prior to emerging as adults, and, when the daughter queens eventually emerge, they fight each other until only one remains; the survivor then becomes the new queen. If one of the sisters emerges before the others, she may kill her siblings while they are still pupae, before they have a chance to emerge as adults.
Once she has dispatched all of her rivals, the new queen, the only fertile female, lays all the eggs for the old colony, which her mother has left. Virgin females are able to lay eggs, which develop into males (a trait shared with wasps, bees, and ants because of haplodiploidy). However, she requires a mate to produce female offspring, which comprise 90% or more of bees in the colony at any given time. Thus, the new queen goes on one or more nuptial flights, each time mating with 1–17 drones. Once she has finished mating, usually within two weeks of emerging, she remains in the hive, playing the primary role of laying eggs.
Throughout the rest of the growing season, the colony produces many workers, who gather pollen and nectar as cold-season food; the average population of a healthy hive in midsummer may be as high as 40,000 to 80,000 bees.  Nectar from flowers is processed by worker bees, who evaporate it until the moisture content is low enough to discourage mold, transforming it into honey, which can then be capped over with wax and stored almost indefinitely. In the temperate climates to which western honey bees are adapted, the bees gather in their hive and wait out the cold season, during which the queen may stop laying. During this time, activity is slow, and the colony consumes its stores of honey used for metabolic heat production in the cold season. In mid- through late winter, the queen starts laying again.  This is probably triggered by day length. Depending on the subspecies, new queens (and swarms) may be produced every year, or less frequently, depending on local environmental conditions and a number of characteristics inside the hive.


The western honey bee is an important pollinator of crops; this service accounts for much of the species' commercial value. In 2005, the estimated commercial value of western honey bees was just under $200 billion worldwide. A large number of the crop species farmed worldwide depend on it. Although orchards and fields have increased in size, wild pollinators have dwindled. In a number of regions the pollination shortage is addressed by migratory beekeepers, who supply hives during a crop bloom and move them after the blooming period. Commercial beekeepers plan their movements and wintering locations according to anticipated pollination services. At higher latitudes it is difficult (or impossible) to overwinter sufficient bees, or to have them ready for early blooming plants. Much migration is seasonal, with hives wintering in warmer climates and moving to follow the bloom at higher latitudes.
In California, almond pollination occurs in February, early in the growing season before local hives have built up their populations. Almond orchards require two hives per acre, or 2,000 m² (22,000 sq ft) per hive, for maximum yield, and pollination is dependent on the importation of hives from warmer climates. Almond pollination (in February and March in the U.S.) is the largest managed pollination event in the world, requiring more than one-third of all managed honey bees in the country. Bees are also moved en masse for pollination of apples in New York, Michigan, and Washington. Despite honey bees' inefficiency as blueberry pollinators, large numbers are moved to Maine because they are the only pollinators who can be easily moved and concentrated for this and other monoculture crops. Bees and other insects maintain flower constancy by transferring pollen to other biologically specific plants; this prevents flower stigmas from being clogged with pollen from other species. In 2000, Drs. Roger Morse and Nicholas Calderone of Cornell University attempted to quantify the effects of the western honey bee on only US food crops. Their calculations came up with a figure of US$14.6 billion in food crop value.


Insect predators of western honey bees include the Asian giant hornet and other wasps, robber flies, dragonflies such as the green darner, some mantises, water striders and the European beewolf.
Arachnid predators of western honey bees include fishing spiders, lynx spiders, goldenrod spiders and St. Andrew's cross spiders.
Reptile and amphibian predators of western honey bees include the black girdled lizard, anoles, and other lizards, and various anuran amphibians including the American toad, the American bullfrog and the wood frog.
Specialist bird predators of western honey bees include the bee-eaters; other birds that may take western honey bees include grackles, hummingbirds, tyrant flycatchers and the summer tanager.  Most birds that eat bees do so opportunistically; however, summer tanagers will sit on a limb and catch dozens of bees from the hive entrance as they emerge.
Mammals that sometimes take western honey bees include bears, opossums, raccoons, skunks, the North American least shrew and the honey badger.


Apart from Apis mellifera, there are six other species in the genus Apis. These are Apis andreniformis, Apis cerana, Apis dorsata, Apis florea, Apis koschevnikovi, and Apis nigrocincta. These species all originated in southern and southeastern Asia. Only Apis mellifera is thought to have originated in Europe, Asia, and Africa.


Aplectrum hyemale is a species of orchid native to the eastern United States and Canada, from Oklahoma east to the Carolinas and north to Minnesota, Ontario, Quebec and Massachusetts. It is particularly common in the Appalachian Mountains, the Great Lakes Region, and the Ohio and Upper Mississippi Valleys. Isolated populations are also reported from Arizona.
Aplectrum hyemale is the sole species of the genus Aplectrum. The generic name comes from Greek and signifies "spurless". The species is commonly referred to as Adam and Eve or putty root; the latter refers to the mucilaginous fluid which can be removed from the tubers when they are crushed.
Aplectrum hyemale spreads underground through the growth of its tubers, forming large colonies. The leaves appear in late November and persist until March.  They are uniquely pin-striped, with parallel alternating silvery-white and green stripes. In late May or early June the flower stalk emerges carrying several flowers, each only a few millimeters across. It is sometimes confused with Tipularia discolor, another orchid species that occurs in eastern North America.
There exists a color variation, Aplectrum hyemale var. pallidum which differs in flower color.


The freshwater drum, Aplodinotus grunniens, is a fish endemic to North and Central America. It is the only species in the genus Aplodinotus, and is a member of the family Sciaenidae. It is the only North American member of the group that inhabits freshwater for its entire life. Its generic name, Aplodinotus, comes from Greek meaning "single back", and the specific epithet, grunniens, comes from a Latin word meaning "grunting". It is given to it because of the grunting noise that mature males make. This noise comes from a special set of muscles within the body cavity that vibrate against the swim bladder. The purpose of the grunting is unknown, but due to it being present in only mature males and during the spawning season, it is assumed to be linked to spawning.
The drum typically weighs  5–15 lb (2.3–6.8 kg). The world record was caught on Nickajack Lake in Tennessee, and weighed in at 54 lb 8 oz (24.7 kg). The freshwater drum is gray or silvery in turbid waters and more bronze or brown colored in clearer waters. It is a deep bodied fish with a divided dorsal fin consisting of 10 spines and 29–32 rays.
The freshwater drum is also called Russell fish, shepherd's pie, gray bass, Gasper goo, Gaspergou, gou, grunt, grunter, grinder, gooble gobble, and croaker. It is commonly known as sheephead and sunfish in parts of Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States.


The freshwater drum prefers clear water, but it is tolerant of turbid and murky water. They prefer the bottom to be clean sand and gravel substrates.
The diet of the freshwater drum is generally benthic and composed of macroinvertebrates (mainly aquatic insect larvae and bivalve mussels), as well as small fish in certain ecosystems.  Freshwater drum show distinct seasonal differences in their diet. In April and May, the drum feeds on dipterans. During these months, dipterans make up about 50 percent of the freshwater drum's diet.  In August through November, they tend to eat fish (which are primarily young-of-the-year gizzard shad). The percentage of fish in their diet at this time ranges from 52 to 94 percent. Other items in the drum's diet are mollusks and crayfish.
The freshwater drum competes with several organisms. During its early stages in Lake Erie, it has been shown to compete with yellow perch, the trout-perch, and the emerald shiner. During its adult lifetime, it competes with yellow perch and silver chub in deep water, and competes with black bass in the shoal areas.
Predators on drum include humans and other fish. During its first year, the freshwater drum serves as a forage fish for many species of predatory fish. These include smallmouth bass, walleye, and many other piscivores. After its first year, the primary predators on freshwater drum are humans. The drum is an important commercial crop on the Mississippi River, but in other areas it constitutes only a small portion of the commercial catch. Consistent with other sciaenids, freshwater drum are strongly nocturnal with the bulk of most catches being derived from night angling/sampling.  Commercial fisheries are present for this species, although market price tends to be quite low.  Thus, many freshwater drum are harvested as bycatch from targeted higher-value species.
There has been some research on the freshwater drum's impact on the invasive zebra mussel in northern lakes and rivers. Zebra mussels are consumed by freshwater drum once they reach a length of 25 cm (9.8 in), but drum under 35 cm (14 in) in length only eat small mussels and reject the larger ones. The fish larger than 35 cm (14 in) exhibit less selectivity and consume mussels relative to their availability in lakes. These larger fish are not restricted by their ability to crush zebra mussels, but they are restricted by the size of the clumps that they can remove. The drums' eating of zebra mussels contributes to a high mussel mortality, but not enough to have an impact on their spread, or control the population.


The plant is widespread across most of Canada, the United States (including Alaska but excluding Florida), and northeast Mexico. Its native habitats include forests, woodlands, forest edges, prairies, meadows, and fields. It prefers dry soils at low to medium elevations.


Native Americans used spreading dogbane in numerous ways. The plant was used as a medicine to treat ailments including headaches, convulsions, ear ache, heart palpitations, colds, insanity, dizziness, rheumatism, scrofula, and syphilis. The plant can also be used as a contraceptive. Among the Ojibwe, the root was used as a gynecological, oral, and throat aid, as well as an analgesic for headaches and a diuretic during pregnancy.  The Ojibwe also consumed the root of the plant during the medicine lodge ceremony. The Forest Potawatomi made medicinal use of the roots as well, and the Prairie Potawatomi used the plant's fruits to treat heart and kidney problems. The stem fibers of the plant are very strong, and Native Americans used them as a thread for sewing. Outside of the Americas, spreading dogbane was also used to treat heart disease in Europe during the first half of the 20th century.


Apocynum cannabinum (dogbane, amy root, hemp dogbane, prairie dogbane, Indian hemp, rheumatism root, or wild cotton) is a perennial herbaceous plant that grows throughout much of North America—in the southern half of Canada and throughout the United States. It is a poisonous plant: Apocynum means "poisonous to dogs". All parts of the plant are poisonous and can cause cardiac arrest if ingested. However, some Lepidoptera feed on this plant, such as two hummingbird moths. The specific epithet cannabinum and the common names hemp dogbane and Indian hemp refer to its similarity to Cannabis.
Although dogbane is poisonous to livestock, it likely got its name from its resemblance to a European species of the same name.


Apocynum cannabinum grows in open wooded areas, ditches, and hillsides. It is found in gravelly or sandy soil, mainly near streams in shady or moist places.
This species is native to North America. However, in gardens it can be unwanted, growing from spreading roots.  When growing among corn, Apocynum cannabinum can reduce yields by up to 10% and when growing among soybeans, by up to 40%.  It can be controlled through mechanical means, although it is difficult to control with herbicides.


It is used in herbal medicine to treat fever, and dysentery. Although the toxins from the plant can cause nausea and catharsis, it has also been used for slowing the pulse, and it is also a sedative and mild hypnotic. It is an unpleasantly bitter stimulant irritant herb that acts on the heart, respiratory and urinary systems, and also on the uterus. Apocynum cannabinum was much employed by various Native American tribes who used it to treat a wide variety of complaints including rheumatism, coughs, pox, whooping cough, asthma, internal parasites, diarrhoea and also to increase milk flow in lactating mothers. The root has been used as a tonic, cardiotonic, diaphoretic, diuretic, emetic (induces vomitting) and expectorant. It is harvested in the autumn and dried for later use. The fresh root is the most active part medicinally. A weak tea made from the dried root has been used for cardiac diseases and also as a vermifuge (an agent that expels parasitic worms). The milky sap is a (presumably topically applied) folk remedy for venereal warts. The plant is still used in modern herbalism, though it should be used with great caution and only under the supervision of a qualified practitioner if taken internally.


Apoda biguttata, the shagreened slug moth, is a moth of the family Limacodidae. It is found in eastern North America.
The wingspan is 19–30 mm. The moth flies from April to August.
The larvae feed on various deciduous trees, including hornbeam, hickory and oak.


Apodasmia similis, along with Empodisma minus, are the respective host plants of the two species of leafhoppers, Paracephaleus hudsoni and Paracephaleus curtus, native to New Zealand.


The wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax) is the largest bird of prey in the continent of Australia. It is also found in southern New Guinea to the north and is distributed as far south as the state of Tasmania. This very large but fairly lanky eagle has long, broad wings, fully feathered legs, an unmistakable wedge-shaped tail, a very elongated, strong beak and powerful feet. The wedge-tailed eagle is one of 12 species of large, predominantly dark-coloured booted eagles in the genus Aquila found worldwide. Genetic research has clearly indicated that the wedge-tailed eagle is fairly closely-related to other, generally large members of the Aquila genus. A large brown-to-black bird of prey, it has a maximum reported wingspan of 2.84 m (9 ft 4 in) and a length of up to 1.06 m (3 ft 6 in).
The wedge-tailed eagle is one of its native continent's most generalized birds of prey. They reside in most habitats present in Australia, ranging from desert and semi-desert to plains to mountainous areas to forest, even sometimes tropical rainforests. Preferred habitats, however, tend towards those that have a fairly varied topography including rocky areas, some open terrain and native woodlots such as Eucalyptus stands.
The wedge-tailed eagle is one of the world's most powerful avian predators. Although a true generalist which hunts a wide range of prey, including birds, reptiles and, rarely, other taxa, this species is by and large a mammal predator. The introduction of the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) has been a boon to the wedge-tailed eagle and they hunt these and other invasive species in large volume, although the wedge-tailed eagle otherwise generally lives off of marsupials, including many surprisingly large macropods. Additionally, wedge-tailed eagles often eat not inconsiderable amounts of carrion, especially while young. Wedge-tailed eagles tend to pair for several years, possibly mating for life.
This species generally constructs a large stick nest in an ample tree, normally the largest in a stand, and lays typically two, although sometimes 1 to 4, eggs. Usually breeding efforts manage to produce one or two fledglings, which after a few months more tend to disperse widely. Nesting failures are usually attributable to human interference such as logging activity and other alterations, which both degrade habitats and cause disturbances. This species is known to be highly sensitive to human disturbance at the nest, which may lead to abandonment of the young. Although historically heavily persecuted by humans via poisonings and shootings, mostly for alleged predation on sheep, wedge-tailed eagles have proved to be exceptionally resilient and have quickly rebounded to similar or even higher than pre-colonization numbers, thanks in part to humans inadvertently providing several food sources such as rabbits and large volumes of roadkills.


This is a very large and quite lanky eagle. It is characteristically black but can appear tar to charcoal brown depending on lighting and individual variation. Wedge-tailed eagles have a massive bill but possess a relatively small and rather flat head with a long, almost vulturine neck. Furthermore, they are distinctive for their prominent carpals and baggy feathered trousers. The species tends to perch conspicuously on dead trees, telegraph poles, rocks or the open ground at times. Between the bill size, elongated shape and prominent shoulders this species is highly distinctive, with its long wings extend well down long and markedly wedge-tipped tail while perched. They have a large proportion of bare facial skin is thought to be an adaptation to the warm climate not to carrion eating, as the non-carrion eating Verreaux's eagle has similar facial feathering and the golden eagle eats carrion too. Against the blackish plumage, the tawny-rufous hackles on the neck, forming a lanceolated shape, as well as the pale brown to rufous crissum and narrow mottled grey-brown band across the greater wing coverts all stand out well. The sexes are indistinguishable by plumage. The juvenile is mainly darkish brown with extensive rufous feather edging and a paler, fairly streaky head. Furthermore, the juvenile has a lighter brown crissum, light reddish brown to golden nape with similar colouring extending sometimes to the back and wing band. The wing band is considerably more prominent than those of adults, extending to the median and sometimes the lesser coverts. Rarely, a juvenile may be all dull black, lacking rufous edges or a wing band. The young eagles are much the same by the 2nd through the 4th years though may be almost invariably visibly in moult and with a narrowing wing band. They become darker around the 5th year with a red-brown nape and a still narrowing wing band. Full mature plumage is not attained until the 7th or 8th year, although sexual maturity can be considered as early as 5. Adults have dark brown eyes, while the juvenile has similar but usually slightly darker eyes. Wedge-tailed eagles are typically creamy white on the cere and feet although these can be dull yellow, more so in juveniles than adults. The wedge-tailed eagle has a unique moult process in that they moult almost continuously and very slowly, and it may take 3 or more years for an eagle of the species to complete a moult. Moults are arrested only at times of famine and happen so gradually as to not impede the flight or hunting capacities of an eagle.
In flight, wedge-tailed eagles appear as a very large dark raptor with a well-protruding head, long and relatively narrow-looking wings more or less parallel edged when soaring and most distinctly a long diamond-shaped tail. The shape is fairly dissimilar from any other raptor in the world.  Juveniles tend to be broader winged in comparison. The wingspan is around 2.2 times greater than the total length. They tend to fly with rather loose but deep and powerful beats. Wedge-tailed eagles spend much time sailing along, looking quite stable and controlled even in strong winds. The species glides and soars on upswept wings with long splayed primaries often the ample tail may be upcurved at the edges often (or “dished”). The eagle often spreads its deep wing emarginations to reduce drag in high winds. Quite on the contrary to their superlative and controlled appearance once on the wing, flight for wedge-tailed eagles can be a struggle even in normal circumstances unless from it is from a pinnacle or somewhat windy and within the forest they may clamor about to reach the canopy with a "lack of grace". Gorged birds on the ground can be vulnerable due to being practically grounded, such as historically to Aboriginal hunters. Wedge-tailed eagles have been seen at more than 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in the air by human gliders. The adult is all blackish on the wing but for the tawny-rufous nape and greyish wing band (running less than a quarter of the way down the wing's width). Little relieves the dark coloration below but the pale brown to rufous crissum and the pale greyish bases to their flight feathers. Juvenile wedge-tailed eagles appear much browner although in general are not dissimilar in pattern below though the body and wings relative to adult. However, juveniles may show some paler mottling, of an off-rufous colour. Meanwhile, the juvenile's tail and most flight feathers are barred greyish which in turn contrast against the pale based primaries with black tips. Above, the juvenile bears much paler and more sandy rufous colour from the head to at least upper mantle and along broad wing band (as well as more than half the wing width). The lighter dorsal colour sometimes extends to much of the back and scapulars. Rare individual juvenile wedge-tailed eagles are dull black without wing band or paler edges. With much variation in individuals, generally as the young eagles age, the signature wing band shrinks incrementally and after 5th year the plumage darkens.


Wedge-tailed eagles are found throughout Australia, including Tasmania and southern New Guinea in almost all habitats, though they tend to be more common in favourable habitat in southern and eastern Australia. In Australia, they may be found almost continuously all the way from the Cape York Peninsula in the north down to Wilsons Promontory National Park and Great Otway National Parks in the southern tips of the continent and from Shark Bay in the western side of the continent to Great Sandy National Park and Byron Bay in the east. They are widespread throughout the desert interior of Australia, however are rare or occur at low densities in the most arid parts of the continent, such as the Lake Eyre Basin. Offshore, the wedge-tailed eagle may be distributed in several of the larger and some of the smaller Australian islands. These include a majority of the Torres Strait Islands, Albany Island, Pipon Island,  the isles of Bathurst Bay, many small isles in Queensland from Night Island down to the South Cumberland Islands, Fraser Island, Moreton Island, North Stradbroke Island, Montague Island, Kangaroo Island, the Nuyts Archipelago, Groote Eylandt and the Tiwi Islands. In Tasmania, they may be found essentially throughout as well as some isles of the Kent Group, Bass Strait, Flinders Island and Cape Barren Island. In New Guinea, the wedge-tailed eagle is highly range restricted and can be found in predominantly in the Trans-Fly savanna and grasslands and the general area around the Western Province, as well as in the Merauke Regency, with some isolated reports in Western New Guinea, the Bensbach River and the Oriomo River.


The wedge-tailed eagle inhabits an extremely wide range of habitats. Although range restricted relative to the golden eagle, it likely occupies a wider range of habitat types than likely any other Aquila eagle and indeed may outrival any booted eagle species in their usage of diverse habitats, being somewhat more akin to habitat generalist raptors such as Buteo buzzards. Assorted habitats known to host wedge-tailed eagles includes open woodland, savanna, heathland, grasslands, desert edge and semi-desert, subalpine forests, montane grasslands and mountain peaks, not-too-dense tropical rainforests, monsoon forests, dwarf conifer forests, some wetlands as well as regularly forays to coastal areas, though normally along the coasts they occur around plains somewhat away from the water. Favored habitat tends to be remote or rough country, at least partially wooded and not uncommonly varied with some rocky spots as well as in shrubland. Wedge-tailed eagles seem to prefer some dead trees to be present. They may occur around Eucalyptus woodland quite regularly, as well as Acacia woodland and mixed woodlands of Casuarina cristata-Flindersia maculosa-Callitris cypresses and also stands of Casuarina cunninghamiana. A strong preference was detected for C. cunninghamiana alternatively with several Eucalyptus species was detected in the Australian Capital Territory, sloping ground allowing good access and access to tall, mature trees being paramount to the eagles in the study. Quite often they will be seen soaring over hills, mountains or escarpments as well as over flat plains, especially spinex grassland. Dense forest is typically avoided with glades and edge often sought out in forested areas. While they do occur in rich riparian woodlands, it is with relative scarcity despite this being where many other raptors of the nation concentrate. In the deserts of the Lake Eyre basin, they are often seen in gibber plains along treed watercourses and drainage basins, here often concentrated around Eucalyptus in stony creek beds. In the sandy desert areas of Western Australia, wedge-tailed eagles were once reasonably common but have largely vacated the region after the macropod prey they live off of there were all but hunted to extinction. Wedge-tailed eagles commonly occur from sea level up to about 2,000 m (6,600 ft) with seemingly no preference based on altitudinal level. A fairly pronounced liking for mountainous localities such as plateaus has been detected in a few studies of wedge-tailed eagle. One of the few habitat types considered to be strongly avoided by wedge-tailed eagles are areas intensively settled or cultivated areas. A slightly fading tendency to avoid human areas has been detected, perhaps as persecution rates have gone far down, and the wedge-tailed eagle may be seen near towns and villages in exurban and even suburban areas largely within bushland. However, the species is seldom seen other than as a flyover in more developed towns and cities. Additionally, it is not uncommon in manmade spots such as pasture areas, forestry clearings, and rolling farmland areas.


This impressive bird of prey spends much of the day perching in trees, on rocks as well as similar exposed lookout sites such as cliffs from which it has a good view of its surroundings. Alternatively, they may sit on the ground for long periods of time or watch from a lower point, such as or termite mounds or anthills. Now and then, it takes off from its perch to fly low over its territory. Especially whilst not breeding, wedge-tailed eagles spends a considerable amount of the day on the wing. Wedge-tailed eagles are highly aerial, soaring for hours on end without wingbeat and seemingly without effort, regularly reaching 1,800 m (5,900 ft) and sometimes considerably higher. The purpose of soaring is unknown. During the intense heat of the middle part of the day, it often soars high in the air, circling up on the thermal currents that rise from the ground below. Often when on the wing, it is scarcely visible to the human's naked eye. Their keen eyesight extends into ultraviolet bands. With a visual perception some three times more acute than those of humans, one of the largest pecten oculi of any bird and an eye roughly as big as a small human's, they may be one of the most sharp-eyed birds in the world. The wedge-tailed eagle is a largely sedentary as expected of a raptor dwelling in the subtropics, although they also dwell in the tropics (far northern Australia and New Guinea) as well as in the temperate zone (Tasmania). However, juveniles of the species can be quite dispersive. In some cases, they have moved to a recorded distance of some 836 to 868 km (519 to 539 mi). These extreme movements have been completed within 7 to 8 months after dispersal. More typically they move no farther than 200 km (120 mi) or so. The adult eagles can also be nomadic, though only in circumstances such as drought conditions. In turn this explains the species presence in places they don't breed, even adults. In addition to moving for drought in arid zone, also moves in highest part of New South Wales, e.g. the Snowy Mountains, the species often apparently vacates snow-covered alpine zone in winter. The small New Guinea population is apparently indistinguishable from the mainland race and so possibly result of recent colonization, although no records exist of migrating wedge-tailed eagles islands past the Torres Straits. However, it can be projected from its presence in various offshore islands its capacity for crossing straits ranging up to as far as 50 to 100 km (31 to 62 mi) apart. One post dispersal young eagle was observed to distribute from Kangaroo Island to the mainland, possibly a regular occurrence. Due to their tendency for wandering, some authors class the wedge-tailed eagles as a “partial or irruptive migrant”. However, while they are arguably irruptive, it does not fit the mold of a true migrant well since under normal circumstances adults are rather sedentary unless environmental changes force them to move.
The wedge-tailed eagle is the only bird that has a reputation for not infrequently attacking hang gliders and paragliders, although other eagles including the golden eagle have also been recorded to behave thusly. Based on the response the eagles show to the gliders, they presumably are defending their territory and treating the perceived intruder like another eagle. Cases are recorded of the birds damaging the fabric of these gliders with their talons as well as some other parts of the gliding apparatus, but not the humans themselves, has been reported. They have also been reported to attack and destroy unmanned aerial vehicles used for mining survey operations in Australia. The presence of a wedge-tailed eagle often causes panic among smaller birds, and as a result, aggressive species such as magpies (one of the most vulnerable types of passerine to eagle attacks), butcherbirds, wagtails, monarch flycatchers, lapwings, and miners as well as smaller birds of prey, including both accipitrids and falcons, any of which may aggressively mob eagles (see video). Multiple species may join the kerfuffle and mob them, especially while the eagles perched, often engaging in noisy calling, presumably meant to disorient the predator, and occasionally in physical attacks against the eagle, typically focused where the big, relatively lumbering eagles could not grasp the attacking birds. The wedge-tailed eagle usually does not engage its tormentors but sometimes rolls in the air to present talons whether perched or not. Sometimes wedge-tailed eagles appear to fight but this and other behaviours, especially between young eagles, may be interpreted as playful. Some such behaviours have included fetching sticks tossed by others, athletic flipping between juvenile eagles and even playing games with dogs, via floating above them until the dogs bark or leap then floating up until the dog settles and then repeating the “game”.
Flocking behaviour has been noted, similar to that of vultures (Cathartidae and Accipitridae) in other countries, when carrion is available.


The wedge-tailed eagle is one of the world's most powerful avian predators. Due to its formidable and dominating nature, it is sometimes nicknamed “King of Birds”, along with golden eagles.  Prey is usually grabbed via a pounce or snatch during a gliding flight or a tail-chase from low quartering or transect flights. Prey is not infrequently spotted from a soaring flight and they may undertake a long, slanting stoop towards it. They may be able to spot prey from farther than a kilometer given their keen vision. Its typical hunting style is not all-together dissimilar from that of golden or Verreaux's eagles. Occasionally, a wedge-tailed eagle still hunts from a perch. Unsuccessful hunts typically exceed in number successful ones. Hunting habitat can be highly variably and can manage to capture prey in both open country and quite thick woodland or forest, though typically require an open understory in the latter. Almost all its prey is taken on the ground but to a lesser extent it may be taken from the tree canopy. They've been known to take birds such as currawongs and cockatoos by coming around them by surprise around a tree or by darting out in flight at close range for a brief tail-chase. Sometimes, an eagle may pull brushtail possums and other mammals from tree cavities, as well as young birds from a nest. They've been known to follow wildfires to search for fleeing animals or alternately tractors and other farm equipment for the same purpose. Wedge-tailed eagles occasionally pirate food from other predators. An eagle of the species can carry prey of at least 5 kg (11 lb).
Large animals may be attacked by pairs or, occasionally by groups, acting cooperatively. One record shows 15 wedge-tailed eagles hunting kangaroos, two at a time actively chasing then repeatedly being replaced by two more from the circling group overhead. Regardless of prey size and season, tandem hunts, mainly by breeding adult pairs or sometimes loosely associated young eagles, are not uncommon. Of 89 observed hunts in Central Australia around one-third were cooperative ones. As in other tandem hunting raptors, one eagle typically lies in wait generally unseen while the other eagle distracts and drives the prey towards it. When hunting domesticated prey, they've been seen to land near livestock mothers to intimidate them and separate their young, so they can attack the latter. Sometimes, wedge-tailed eagles may use fences to limit a prey's escape routes. In some cases, these eagles will attempt to force large prey such as kangaroos and dingos to fall off steep hillsides and injure themselves. At times, wedge-tailed eagles appear to hunt at earliest light or late twilight in order to come upon nocturnal prey such as hare-wallaby and bettongs. These eagles have been seen removing rabbits from traps and eating carrion in bright moonlight as well. At times, remarkably, wedge-tailed eagles have been covering large prey with vegetation, apparently to cache food too heavy to carry. Carrion is a major diet item, also; wedge-tails can spot the activity of ravens around a carcass from a great distance, and glide down to appropriate it. Carrion consumption is recorded in all season and contexts, although generally non-breeding birds are more likely to scavenge and young wedge-tailed eagles, even more so shortly post-dispersal, are thought to be far more likely to scavenge on carrion than adults generally. Wedge-tailed eagles are often seen by the roadside in rural Australia, feeding on animals that have been killed in collisions with vehicles. The importance of carrion relative to live prey has not been greatly studied but away from human development, especially roads, carrion is less likely to be encountered and eagles of all ages must presumably hunt to survive. In general, Australian accipitrids of many species not infrequently come to carrion and they along with large passerines like Corvus species and currawongs probably fulfill the niche that vultures do in other continents to some extent, albeit with considerably less specialization. Aggregations of wedge-tailed eagles may occur not infrequently at large carcasses, with up to 5–12 eagles or sometimes 20 gathering. A wedge-tailed eagle can gorge up to 1 to 1.5 kg (2.2 to 3.3 lb) at a sitting and, when fulfilled, can lasts for an unusual amount of time, for up to weeks or even a month, before needing to hunt again, apparently due to the warmth of the environment. After feeding they may disgorge a relatively small pellet, 29 to 98 mm (1.1 to 3.9 in) long by 20 to 50 mm (0.79 to 1.97 in) wide and weighing some 8.8 g (0.31 oz). Usually the diet is determined from a combination of reviewing these pellets along with loose prey remains.


The wedge-tailed eagle is a dietary generalist, opportunistically capturing a wide range of prey species. Its prey spectrum is quite broad, with well over 200 prey species documented to be taken and even this includes very few prey only from secondary accounts from Tasmania and New Guinea. The wedge-tailed eagles tends to prefer smallish to fairly large mammals as prey. However, they not infrequently take ample numbers of both birds and reptiles, along with scarcely other prey taxon. Out of 21 accrued dietary studies, 61.3% of prey items by number in the foods during nesting efforts were mammals, 21.6% were birds, 13.2% were reptiles, 2.1% by invertebrates, principally insects, 1.5% by fish, and almost no amphibians by number. Meanwhile, out of the 21, 13 studies calculated estimated biomass, and found that just shy of 90% of prey biomass was made of by mammals, 6.2% by birds and 3.4% by reptiles. Out of the Aquila genus, it is one of a few generalist species, however the wedge-tailed eagle is the Aquila most likely to typically attack the largest prey. Generally, this species prefers to attack birds and reptiles weighing over 100 g (3.5 oz) and mammals weighing over 500 g (1.1 lb), although prey taken at times has varied from a few grams to more than sixteen times the weight of an individual eagle. A comparison estimate posited that around 2% of wedge-tailed eagle prey weighs less than 63 g (2.2 oz), 4% of their prey weighs 63 to 125 g (2.2 to 4.4 oz), 7% of their prey weighs 125 to 250 g (4.4 to 8.8 oz), 10% weighs 250 to 500 g (8.8 to 17.6 oz), 20% weighs 500 to 1,000 g (1.1 to 2.2 lb), 25% weighs 1,000 to 2,000 g (2.2 to 4.4 lb), 18% weighs 2,000 to 4,000 g (4.4 to 8.8 lb) and 14% weighs over 4,000 g (8.8 lb). Projected from this comparison, the mean prey size for wedge-tailed eagles is estimated at 1,750 g (3.86 lb), similar but just slightly ahead of the Verreaux's eagle and some 14% ahead of the golden eagle global mean prey size. Further studies estimated mean prey weight, showing the mean prey weigh in the Canberra-Australian Capital Territory region in three different studies was estimated to be 1,298 g (2.862 lb), 2,131 g (4.698 lb) and 2,890 g (6.37 lb), changing likely due to the shifting significances of leporids and larger macropods. In a small study from Armidale, New South Wales, it was estimated that mean prey weight was 1,309 g (2.886 lb). It only ranks behind the crowned eagle and harpy eagle and rivals the martial eagle as the eagle likely to attack the largest prey on average.


While the introduction of invasive species to Australia has been generally having a negative to devastating effect on native animals and ecosystems, the wedge-tailed eagle is one of a few native species to largely benefit from these introductions. This is especially due to the introduction of the European rabbit, which were deliberately introduced repeatedly (abortively in 1859 and then via a concerted effect from 1937 to 1950), largely so the wealthy could hunt them. The wedge-tailed eagles quickly took to the rabbits as prey along with another introduced leporid, the European hare (Lepus europaeus). In almost every part of Australia, these eagles take rabbits in some numbers and they usually constitute the bulk of the prey species in most, if not all, Australian food studies. In some dietary studies rabbits have accounted for up to 89.2% of the diet by number and 86% by biomass, as in Bacchus Marsh, however they more typically range from 16% to 49% of the diet by number in various studies. One Canberra study found that 98.5% of the rabbits taken were adults. In the largest study near Canberra, over 5.5 years, 19.3% of the diet of wedge-tailed eagles was rabbits (12.7% of prey biomass) among 1421 prey items, so the eagles took a total of some 275 rabbits in the 11 to 17 studied territories of the area.  A study estimated that mean weight of wild rabbits in Australia was 1.4 kg (3.1 lb), lower than estimated in the past. However, other studies estimated the mean weights of rabbits taken by wedge-tailed eagles as variously from 1.5 to 2.2 kg (3.3 to 4.9 lb) or “usually over 1.65 kg (3.6 lb)”, infrequently reported to 2.47 kg (5.4 lb), size of the rabbits being perhaps limited the poorly-suited soil and environs of the Australian wildlands. Meanwhile, the European hare is neither as widely established nor as prolifically taken as rabbits by wedge-tailed eagles but are by no means neglected and a substantial meal. With a mean body mass of 4 kg (8.8 lb), hares have been as much as nearly 10% of the local diet and up to 14% of prey biomass in studies. Rabbit haemorrhagic disease was deliberately introduced to control the population of rabbits subsequent to 1995, followed more effectively by introduction of myxoma virus to limit the damage rabbits have inflicted on native vegetation and resultingly have competed native mammals like wallabies out of parts of their range. Ultimately, the rabbit population may have more than halved and locally have been some 90% reduced. As a matter of consensus, the wedge-tailed eagles do not appear to be adversely affected in major ways by the biological control of rabbits since they can revert to primarily taking native prey species quite readily. In the region of Broken Hill, White Cliffs and Cunnamulla, rabbits have gone down from accounting for 56–69% of the diet to 16–31% of it. Furthermore, wedge-tailed eagles have been known to successfully maintain population in the absence of any rabbits in a few areas.
Much more controversial at one time than hunting introduced rabbits and hares is the wedge-tailed eagle's occasional tendency to feed on and sometimes kill domesticated livestock animals. The predation of wedge-tailed eagles on young farm animals has been the primary historic driver for the persecution of the species. However, in no known study have domestic livestock been known to be primary prey. The closest association with them was in northwestern Queensland where lambs (Ovis aries) made up 32.7% of prey in pellets and 17.1% in remains, accounting for 15–21% of the prey biomass, while juvenile pigs (Sus scrofa domesticus) made up 7.3% of pellet remains and 22% of the biomass. Although it can be highly difficult, attempts have been made at parsing out whether the eagles had indeed killed the lambs rather than just lifting or dismantling them after finding them dead, as this eagle quite readily comes to carrion. The findings were that of 29 diagnosable lamb deaths in northwest Queensland, only 34.5% were due to eagle attacks. The wedge-tailed eagle is at times capable of taking very substantial livestock animals, lambs taken have been estimated to weigh a mean of 3.5 kg (7.7 lb) or up to 15 kg (33 lb) while fully grown sheep weighing some 40 to 50 kg (88 to 110 lb) are infrequently vulnerable, presumably in large part to hunting pairs of eagles. In the largest study of the Canberra area, 82.5% of diagnosable sheep specimens were adults but probably were by and large scavenged. Meanwhile, young pigs included in the diet were estimated to weigh around 14 kg (31 lb), and sometimes feral piglets are included in the diet. When attacking lambs, the wedge-tailed eagles are apparently capable of driving their talons into the skull of the victim, although more typically they land along the back and grip the lamb along the spine until it weakens and collapses while flapping the wings for balance. This species will also land between a ewe or female pig and their respective lambs or piglets in order to separate the latter for attack. Wedge-tailed eagles are also known to at times prey on another animal introduced for human hunting purposes, the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), which can form up to about 4% of an eagle's breeding diet and 5% of the biomass, weighing up to 9 kg (20 lb). In Canberra, about 59% of the foxes found in the diet were adults. Additionally, feral cats, mainly juveniles, can be part of their prey.
The primary native prey of wedge-tailed eagles is presumably marsupials, particularly macropods, which also lines up with studies where rabbits have declined or never occurred. Many wallabies, kangaroos and associated animals are included in the diet, with over 50 marsupials known in the species’ prey spectrum. When selecting marsupials, wedge-tailed eagles tend to ignore smaller species and focus on larger sized ones. However, they generally most often take alive the young, small and sickly of large macropod marsupials. Findings were that juvenile macropods were taken out of proportion to their numbers in the environment, unlike rabbits which were taken roughly in proportion to their abundance. Also they in recent times have regularly been known to come marsupials such as kangaroos that are roadkills (and are known to come introduced rabbits and foxes and livestock animals killed by cars as well). There is little evidence that macropods delivered to nests are usually roadkills or from carrion, the source of prey is difficult to determine because examinations are usually done after breeding is complete to minimize disturbance. Also attendance at carrion by wedge-tailed eagles is disproportionately done by juvenile eagles. In one study of roadkills in Australia, the species ranked around 4th by frequency and capacity for carcass breakdown of scavengers at roadkills, behind feral pigs, red foxes and ravens. A video surveillance study at the nest determined that seemingly freshly killed, albeit usually quite young macropods were delivered to nests near Broken Hill. As much as 20% to 30% of the diet can be made up of by macropods. Large and prominent species are known including the grey kangaroos and the red kangaroo (Osphranter rufus). Generally, juveniles are targeted of these large species with eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) estimated to weigh 17.2 to 20 kg (38 to 44 lb) when taken by wedge-tailed eagles, in Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales, while the weight of young western grey kangaroos (Macropus fuliginosus) was said to be 3.8 kg (8.4 lb) in one study in Western Australia. The estimated weight of juvenile red kangaroos taken was 9 kg (20 lb) in northwestern Queensland where they were the primary prey species ahead of lambs. However, wedge-tailed eagles do not shy away from attacking large, adult macropods. They've been recorded attacking eastern grey kangaroos weighing over 35 kg (77 lb). In one case, a huge male eastern grey kangaroo, estimated to stand 1.7 m (5 ft 7 in) was successfully dispatched by a pair of wedge-tailed eagles. Furthermore, an adult female western grey kangaroo was witnessed to be killed “in a few minutes” by a hunting pair of wedge-tailed eagles and the eagles are considered a serious predator of the western grey. Similarly large adult macropods killed by these eagles can include common wallaroos (Osphranter robustus) (mean adult weight around 25 kg (55 lb)), antilopine kangaroo (Osphranter antilopinus) (mean adult weight around 30 kg (66 lb)), agile wallaby (Notamacropus agilis) (median adult weight around 16.8 kg (37 lb)), black-striped wallaby (Notamacropus dorsalis) (median adult weight around 13 kg (29 lb)), red-necked wallaby (Notamacropus rufogriseus) estimated to weigh around 16 kg (35 lb) when taken, swamp wallaby (Wallabia bicolor) (mean adult weight around 15 kg (33 lb)), and even red kangaroo adults. In some unusual cases, wedge-tailed eagle hunting parties can form whilst hunting red kangaroos, sometimes including up to 15 eagles (more loose, opportunistic aggregations than well-organized groups), but usually only a pair is sufficient to kill such prey. Normally, the eagles repeatedly attack the kangaroo, sinking their talons into the back or nape and then fly up, when the second eagle starts doing the same. In some cases as many as 123 attacks have been carried out against large kangaroo before they succumb. When attacking joeys, eagles in some cases may have intentionally gotten a mother kangaroo to dislodge its joey from its pouch in order to capture and fly off with the joey. In extreme cases, wedge-tailed eagles have killed kangaroos weighing approximately 60 kg (130 lb).
In addition, several smaller and more elusive macropods are taken including tree-kangaroos, hare-wallabies, nail-tail wallabies, rock-wallabies, dorcopsises and pademelons. Other marsupials are by no means neglected. In Shark Bay, hare-wallabies and bettongs seem to form the central part of the diet. Another dietary favorite is the common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula), weighing some 2.55 kg (5.6 lb), which was important supplemental prey in the Perth area and was the primary prey species on Kangaroo Island, at 33% of the diet there. Around Perth, other small, nocturnal marsupials were taken in some numbers including woylies (Bettongia penicillata) and southern brown bandicoots (Isoodon obesulus). The common ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) was the second most prominent prey species in the diet near Melbourne, comprising 20.1% of the diet, with some numbers of common brushtails also taken there. Long-nosed bandicoots (Perameles nasuta) were regular supplemental prey in northeastern New South Wales. Other notable marsupials known to fall prey to wedge-tailed eagles include adults of the following: koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus), quokkas (Setonix brachyurus), eastern (Dasyurus viverrinus), western (Dasyurus geoffroii) and tiger quolls (Dasyurus maculatus), Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii), bilbies, numbats (Myrmecobius fasciatus), common wombats (Vombatus ursinus), southern greater gliders (Petauroides volans) and potoroos. Based on hunting data, wedge-tailed eagles are one of the only native predators left of large dasyuromorph carnivorous marsupials, and tend to take species like tiger quolls and Tasmanian devils, which are far from defenseless, in well-executed ambushes in forested areas.
With relative infrequency, other classes of mammals, beyond leporids and marsupials, may be taken opportunistically by wedge-tailed eagles. At least two species each of flying foxes and wattled bats are included in the prey spectrum. Occasionally, an eagle may take a monotreme including both the platypus (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) and the short-beaked echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus). Several species of rat are readily taken and even the house mouse (Mus musculus), likely the smallest mammalian prey known for wedge-tailed eagles at around 20 g (0.71 oz) in weight. Although rare, a dingo (Canis lupus dingo) may taken by a wedge-tailed eagle at times, mostly pups, or carrion but sometimes a pair of eagles can kill adults too. Beyond sheep, pigs and infrequently young goats (Capra hircus), other ungulate prey, entirely introduced by man into the Australasian region, is eaten exclusively as carrion so far as is known, including cattle (Bos primigenius taurus) (despite claims that these eagles have killed young calves, which is possible, they've only ever been witnessed feeding on afterbirths and not harming calves), Javan rusa (Rusa timorensis) in New Guinea and sambar deer (Rusa unicolor) in northern Victoria and swamp buffalo (Bubalus bubalis) in the Northern Territory. In one instance, a young girl was apparently subject to a brief attack by a wedge-tailed eagle, in what was likely an attempted act of predation, near her rural home but the attack was abandoned by the eagle. It has been noted that some different species of large eagles are thought to occasionally attack children as prey, though among extant species only the crowned eagle and martial eagle, both in Africa, are thought to have successfully carried out rare acts of predation on human children.


Birds take a clearly secondary position to mammals when importance and especially prey weight are concerned, however the wedge-tailed eagle has some fondness clearly for avian prey. With more than 100 prey species included in the prey spectrum, birds are the most diverse class of prey taken by these eagles. Generally, the predation of birds seems to be highly opportunistic and no one type of bird reliably dominates the eagle's diet. However certain species, probably due to their commonality in eagle territories and perhaps vulnerability through their own behaviour that seem to be taken most often. These consist of Corvus species, especially little (Corvus mellori) and Australian ravens (Corvus coronoides), weighing a mean between species of around 580 to 590 g (1.28 to 1.30 lb) when taken, 300 to 329 g (10.6 to 11.6 oz) Australian magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen), 800 to 820 g (1.76 to 1.81 lb) Australian wood duck (Chenonetta jubata), 310 to 335 g (10.9 to 11.8 oz) galah (Eolophus roseicapilla), larger cockatoos and smaller parakeets and parrots. On Kangaroo Island, Australian and little ravens together comprised 19% of the diet. In Canberra, fairly prominent numbers of magpies, wood ducks, galahs and eastern (Platycercus eximius) and crimson rosellas (Platycercus elegans) are known to be taken, these collectively forming up to about 25% of the diet by number. In the Perth region, birds were taken amply, especially the Australian raven at 12.6% of prey remains and 4.7% of the biomass, with birds comprising just shy of 25% of the diet. Elsewhere in Western Australia, a similar percentage of the diet is made up of by birds, mostly the same species with some number of Australian ringnecks (Barnardius zonarius) and Baudin's black cockatoos (Zanda baudinii) as well. Peculiarly, one study found that among a large sample of 1826 prey items in the Northern Territory that the most often identified prey species was the tiny budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulatus), at 29 g (1.0 oz) one of the smallest avian prey species for this eagle. In a single study, birds comprised the majority of prey for wedge-tailed eagles, at 62.5%, mostly Corvus followed by wood duck, galah and magpies. Other assorted avian prey include several species of waterfowl, including several ducks as well as swans and geese, and a fairly strong frequency of attacks on large rails, such as swamphens, moorhens, native-hens and coots.
Additionally, wedge-tailed eagles may take Australian brush turkeys (Alectura lathami) and malleefowl (Leipoa ocellata), quail, pigeons and doves, frogmouths and owlet-nightjars, cuckoos, buttonquails, stilts, lapwings, plains-wanderers (Pedionomus torquatus), thick-knees, gulls, petrels, cormorants, herons, ibises and spoonbills, cranes, other birds of prey, kingfishers, honeyeaters, quail-thrushes, whistlers, monarch flycatchers, mudnesters, artamids, true thrushes, grass warblers, starlings and pipits. The smallest avian prey attributed to wedge-tailed eagles is the 10 g (0.35 oz) zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata). Particularly large birds are sometimes taken of a few species. When it comes to the emu (Dromaius novaehollandiae), Australia's tallest and second heaviest bird, wedge-tailed eagles normally attack the small young but are capable of attacking adult emus more than 10 times their own weight. Two estimates estimated the typical body mass of emus attacked were merely 2.42 and 3.32 kg (5.3 and 7.3 lb), respectively, against an average of 34 kg (75 lb) for adult emu. As much as 4% of the diet of wedge-tailed eagles can be comprised of by emu chicks. Some Australia's largest flying birds are also included in the wedge-tailed eagle's prey spectrum. These include the black swan (Cygnus atratus), estimated to weigh 5 kg (11 lb) when taken, black-necked stork (Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus), which weighs at least 4.1 kg (9.0 lb), and brolga (Antigone rubicunda), arguably Australia's largest resident flying species of bird at a mean of 6.23 kg (13.7 lb). An unusually close feeding association with a very large bird is with the Australian bustard (Ardeotis australis) in northwestern Queensland, where bustards were found to comprise 13.4% of the pellet contents and 23% of prey biomass. This study calculated the mean weight of bustards taken as 8.97 kg (19.8 lb), indicating that the eagles were selectively predating the much larger male bustards.


The wedge-tailed eagle occupies a fairly unique niche relative to other Aquila. While primarily continental in distribution, it is distributed well apart from most related species, whereas most Aquila are distributed in Eurasia or Africa and face considerable competition over resources, enabling certain specializations of most species in habitat or microhabitat, morphology and behaviours and often life history, including nesting grounds and often foods.  The wedge-tailed eagle has the ability to exploit a more catholic variation of both prey and habitat since it exists with relatively fewer competing species. The most considerable potential competition comes in the two other eagles regularly distributed in Australia, the little eagle and white-bellied sea eagle. The little eagle has a few ecological similarities to the wedge-tailed eagle. It is also something of a habitat generalist, although it is found somewhat scarcely in more arid vicinity, high elevation areas and varied semi-open forest than the wedge-tailed eagle. Like the wedge-tailed eagle, the little eagle has in recent decades become a somewhat specialized predator of European rabbits. However, the size difference is extreme between the wedge-tailed and little eagles, with the earlier over four times heavier than the latter, and the little eagle as expected exploits a lower trophic level relative to its more powerful competitor. As in other areas where booted eagles and sea eagles have abutting ranges, sometimes wedge-tailed eagles compete with white-bellied sea eagles. One key difference from elsewhere where competition sometimes occurs such as the golden eagle with the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) in Eurasia and the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) in North America, both of which are slightly heavier than the golden, is that the white-bellied sea eagle is the slightly smaller species than the wedge-tailed eagle, potentially giving the latter a more pronounced competitive edge. However, the white-bellied sea eagle clearly does not shy away from contentious border disputes with wedge-tailed eagles and the two species can often be seen be seen readily attacking each other, occasionally in talon grappling and sometimes cartwheeling attacks on one another. However, the ecological effect of interspecific competition of the two species is not clear. Although the wedge-tailed eagle is considered the dominant species of the two, they clearly do not take the presence of white-bellied sea eagles lightly and some authors feel they may avoid nesting near them. Clearly there is ample partitioning between the wedge-tailed and white-bellied sea eagles, the latter adapted to mostly open wetlands and coasts and, while also a dietary generalist, they tend to derive most of their diet from fish, water birds and other wetland-dwelling prey, and they seldom compete directly for prey such as mammals with wedge-tailed eagles.
Most other diurnal raptors that reside in Australia are considerably smaller and seldom can be said to present great competition to the wedge-tailed eagles, although some such as swamp harriers (Circus approximans), black-breasted kites and grey goshawks (Accipiter novaehollandiae) are relatively large for their taxon and powerful predators in their own rights. In one instance, a square-tailed kite (Lophoictinia isura) was observed to engage in an apparent territorial fight with a wedge-tailed eagle, including talon-grappling. When it comes to carrion, wedge-tailed eagles tend to dominate other predators, especially most birds, with most kites, other assorted raptors and some large passerine birds, mainly Corvus species and butcherbirds, coming to dead animals including roadkills. However, heavier terrestrial meat-eaters can hold their own at times against wedge-tailed eagles, namely red foxes, dingos, monitor lizards and Tasmanian devils, despite all these species sometimes turning up as prey of these eagles as well. Sometimes the wedge-tailed eagle will readily rob various other raptors of their prey, including little eagles, white-bellied sea eagles and brown falcons (Falco berigora). Wedge-tailed eagles will opportunistically prey on other birds of prey. They share this aptitude they share with other large eagles in different parts of the world such as golden eagles, although such acts are relatively infrequent, it is clear that the wedge-tailed eagle is considered a primary threat by many raptors based on witnessed attacks by eagles on them and the mobbing behaviour of other raptors. Among the other birds of prey known to occasionally fall prey to these eagles are little eagles, collared sparrowhawks (Accipiter cirrocephalus), grey goshawks, brown goshawks (Accipiter fasciatus), Pacific bazas (Aviceda subcristata), black-breasted buzzards, peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus), Australian hobbys (Falco longipennis), black falcons (Falco subniger), brown falcons and Nankeen kestrels (Falco cenchroides). Occasionally owls are also included in the prey spectrum when an opportunity arises, including barn owls (Tyto alba), southern boobooks (Ninox boobook) and even powerful owls (Ninox strenua). Wedge-tailed eagles are apex predators and have no well-documented predators, although presumably they have some nest predators, likely including ravens and currawongs, especially when displaced by human disturbance from their nests. Occasionally, these eagles may possibly risk injury or death in conflicts against other powerful predators and scavengers, such as dingos, quolls, Tasmanian devils, goannas and snakes, but no such verified instances seem to be known in literature, and man is considered to be the wedge-tailed eagle's only true predator. Occasionally they may be injured and even killed via intra- and interspecies territorial conflicts and mobbing by other birds of prey, especially stooping peregrine falcons which have successfully knocked wedge-tailed eagles out of the sky, with a force known to kill both golden and bald eagles in other parts of the world. Due to the formidable aerial attack of the peregrine, it may be the only raptor besides the white-bellied sea eagle that wedge-tailed eagles may avoid nesting near. Most of the large falcons, including peregrine, brown and black falcons, and at times large owls nest in unused or abandoned wedge-tailed eagle nests.