Animalia Life

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 Moluqueсa.
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.

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