Photo gallery: 18 breathtaking images of eagles in the wild
Eagles have always been a symbol of pride, strength, power and independence. With these stunning images of eagles around the world from Mike Unwin and David Tipling’s latest book, it’s easy to see why…
Hunters of the uplands
This immature black-and-chestnut eagle, close to fledgling, shows significantly paler plumage than that of the parent (Minden Pictures/Alamy Stock Photo)
The golden eagle derives its name from the colour of its long nape feathers (© David Tipling)
— Mike Unwin
Predators of the plains
An adult martial eagle is one of the most fearsome, known for being aggressive (Steve Holroyd/Alamy Stock Photo)
The wedge-tailed eagle is the largest raptor of Australasia and a close relative of the northern hemisphere’s Golden Eagle (Manfred Gottschalk/Alamy Stock Photo)
— Mike Unwin
A martial eagle uses lethal talons to subdue the struggles of a Nile monitor lizard (Photononstop/Alamy Stock Photo)
An immature eastern imperial eagle spending winter in the Hungarian lowlands perches on a hay bale (John Gooday/Alamy Stock Photo)
— Mike Unwin
An adult bateleur (left) perched next to an immature (right) in South Africa’s Kruger National Park, showing that although the two differ greatly in plumage, they share the same characteristic shape of large head, long wings, and short tail (blickwinkel/Alamy Stock Photo)
Assassins of the woodlands
The changeable hawk-eagle is a typical woodland species, finding prey both among the trees and in the surrounding open country (Prisma by Dukas Presseagentur GmbH/Alamy Stock Photo)
The booted eagle is one of the smallest of all eagles (BIOSPHOTO/Alamy Stock Photo)
— Mike Unwin
An immature greater spotted eagle takes flight in Salalah, Dhofar, Oman (Saverio Gatto/Alamy Stock Photo)
Raptors of the rain forest
The harpy eagle is probably the world’s most powerful avian predator, with talons longer than the claws of a grizzly bear (David Tipling)
One of the smallest eagles, Wallace’s hawk-eagle weighs no more than a large pigeon (Minden Pictures/Alamy Stock Photo)
Like the peregrine falcon, which its face resembles, the rufous-bellied hawk-eagle often captures prey in fast aerial pursuit (Minden Pictures/Alamy Stock Photo)
Wings over the water
Feathers fly, as a Steller’s sea-eagle grapples with two White-tailed Sea-eagles for possession of a fish (David Tipling)
— Mike Unwin
Two adult Steller’s Sea-eagles raise their heads to utter their deep cackling call, while a third looks on (David Tipling)
Few creatures are more emblematic than the bald eagle, known worldwide as the national bird of the United States (David Tipling)
— Mike Unwin
An African fish-eagle takes flight with a bream, plucked from the surface of Botswana’s Chobe River (Westend61 GmbH/Alamy Stock Photo)
The Empire of the Eagle: An Illustrated Natural History, by Mike Unwin and David Tipling, is published by Yale University Press.
This book, unlike any previous volume, encompasses each of the world’s 68 currently recognised eagle species, from the huge Steller’s sea-eagle that soars above Japan’s winter ice floes to the diminutive little eagle that hunts over the Australian outback. Mike Unwin’s vivid and authoritative descriptions combined with stunning photographs taken or curated by David Tipling deliver a fascinating and awe-inspiring volume.
Featuring chapters organised by habitat, the book investigates the lifestyle and unique adaptations of each eagle species, as well as the significance of eagles in world cultures and the threats they face from humans.
Mike Unwin is a celebrated wildlife and travel writer, known for his books and journalism. Also a photographer, illustrator, and popular speaker, he lives in Brighton, UK.
David Tipling is renowned for his wildlife photographs and writings and is co-author of the critically acclaimed Birds & People. He lives in Norfolk, UK.
