The eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey in the Accipitridae family. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 60 species of eagles come from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, only 14 species can be found – 2 in North America, 9 in Central and South America, and 3 in Australia.

Eagles are not a natural group but essentially denote any bird of prey large enough to hunt sizeable (about 50 cm long or more overall) vertebrate prey.

Eagles are large, powerfully built birds of prey with heavy heads and beaks. Even the smallest eagles, such as the booted eagle (Aquila pennata), which is comparable in size to the common buzzard (Buteo buteo) or red-tailed hawk (B. jamaicensis), have relatively longer and more evenly broad wings and more direct, faster – despite the small size of the aerodynamic feathers. Most eagles are larger than all other raptors apart from some vultures. The smallest eagle species is the South Nicobar serpent eagle (Spilornis klossi) at 450 g (1 lb) and 40 cm (16 in). The largest species are discussed below. Like all birds of prey, eagles have very large hook beaks to snatch meat from the prey, strong legs, muscular, and powerful talons. The beak is usually heavier than that of most other birds of prey. The eyes of eagles are extremely strong. The martial eagle, whose eye is more than twice as long as the human eye, is believed to have a visual acuity of 3.0 to 3.6 times that of humans. This acuity allows eagles to see potential prey from a great distance. This strong vision is mainly due to their extremely large pupils, which ensure minimal diffraction (scattering) of the received light. The female of all known eagle species is larger than the male.

Eagles normally build their nests, called eyries, in tall trees or on high cliffs. Many species lay two eggs, but the older and older chick often kills its younger siblingonce it has hatched. The dominant chick is usually female, as they are larger than males. The parents did not take steps to stop the killing.

Due to the size and power of many species of eagles, they are ranked at the top of the food chain as the top predators in the avianworld. The type of prey varies depending on the genus. Haliaeetus and Ichthyophaga eagles prefer to catch fish, although the former species often catch various animals, especially other water birds, and are strong kleptoparasites of other birds. The snake and serpent eagles of the genera Circaetus, Terathopius, and Spilornis predominate mainly over the wide variety of snakes found in the tropics of Africa and Asia. Eagles are often the best birds of prey in open habitats, taking almost any medium-sized vertebrate they can catch. Where Aquila eagles are absent, other eagles, such as the buzzard eagle buteonine black-chested of South America, may take the position of the best raptorial predator in open areas. Many other eagles, including the species-rich genus Spizaetus, live mainly in forests and woods.

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