Gurney's eagle

Aquila gurneyi

SUBFAMILY

Accipitrinae

TAXONOMY

Aquila (? Heteropus) gurneyi G.R. Gray, 1860, Bacan, Moluccas. Monotypic.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

French: Aigle de Gurney; German: Molukkenadler; Spanish: Aguila Moluqueña.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

29.1–33.9 in (74–86 cm); female 107.9 oz (3,060 g); males are smaller than females. Chocolate brown plumage.

DISTRIBUTION

New Guinea and larger surrounding islands including Misool, Waigeo, Salawati, Aru, Yapen, Normandy and Goodenough, West Papuan, and Aru Islands, and the Moluccas, including Morotai, Halmahera, Ternate, Bacan, Ambon, and Seram.

HABITAT

Hillside and lowland primary rainforest and swamp forest. Hunts into nearby littoral zone, cultivated farmland and grassland. Inland but usually within 9.3 mi (15 km) of coast.

BEHAVIOR

Uses uplifts to soar along hillsides and cliffs; soars to great height on thermals. Usually solitary in pairs or trios, the latter possibly family groups. Adults apparently sedentary.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Reported to take cuscus and other arboreal mammals. Slowly quarters forest canopy or ground, patrols seashore.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Not known.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not threatened. Uncommon and seldom encountered. Deforestation of lowlands may be a threat.

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

None known.