Breeding and Habitat
Wedge-tails are found throughout Australia, including Tasmania, and southern New Guinea in almost all habitats, though they tend to be more common in lightly timbered and open country in southern and eastern Australia.
As the breeding season approaches, a pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles will perch close to each other and preen one other. They also perform dramatic aerobatic display flights together over their territory. Sometimes the male dives down at breakneck speed towards his partner. As he pulls out of his dive and rises just above her on outstretched wings, she either ignores him or turns over to fly upside down, stretching out her talons. The pair may then perform a loop-the-loop. The wedge-tailed eagle usually nests in the fork of a tree between one and thirty meters above the ground, but if there are no suitable sites, it will nest on a cliff edge.
Before egg laying, both birds will either destroy the large stick nest or add new sticks and leaf lining to an old nest. Nests can be 2–5 metres deep and 2–5 metres wide. The female usually lays two eggs and are incubated by both sexes.After about 45 days, the chicks hatch. At first, the male does all the hunting. When the chicks are about 30 days old, the female stops brooding them and joins her mate to hunt for food.
The young Wedge-tailed Eagles depend on their parents for food for up to six months after hatching. They leave only when the next breeding season approaches.
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