title: Dolours Price

text: On the back of the hunger-striking campaign, her father contested West Belfast at the UK General Election of February 1974, receiving 5,662 votes (11.9%). The Price sisters, Hugh Feeney, and Gerry Kelly were moved to Northern Ireland prisons in 1975 as a result of an IRA truce. In 1980 Price received the Royal Prerogative of Mercy and was freed on humanitarian grounds in 1981, purportedly suffering from anorexia nervosa due to the invasive trauma of daily force feedings.


title: Dolours Price

text: The Price sisters remained active politically. In the late 1990s, Price and her sister claimed that they had been threatened by their former colleagues in the IRA and Sinn Féin for publicly opposing the Good Friday Agreement i.e. the cessation of the IRA's military campaign). Price was a contributor to "The Blanket", an online journal, edited by former Provisional IRA member Anthony McIntyre, until it ceased publication in 2008.


title: Dolours Price

text: After her release in 1980, she married Irish actor Stephen Rea, with whom she had two sons, Danny and Oscar. They divorced in 2003.


title: Dolours Price

text: In 2001, Price was arrested in Dublin and charged with possession of stolen prescription pads and forged prescriptions. She pleaded guilty and was fined £200 and ordered to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings.


title: Dolours Price

text: In February 2010, it was reported by "The Irish News" that Price had offered help to the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains in locating graves of three men, Joe Lynskey, Seamus Wright, and Kevin McKee. The bodies of Seamus Wright and Kevin McKee were recovered from a singular grave in County Meath in August 2015. It is unclear if Price played a role in their recovery. The remains of Joe Lynskey have not been recovered as of September 2022.


title: Dolours Price

text: She was the subject of the 2018 feature-length documentary "I, Dolours" in which she gave an extensive filmed interview.


title: Dolours Price

text: In 2010 Price claimed Gerry Adams had been her officer commanding when she was active in the IRA. Adams, who has always denied being a member of the IRA, denied her allegation. Price admitted taking part in the murder of Jean McConville, as part of an IRA action in 1972. She claimed the murder of McConville, a mother of 10, was ordered by Adams when he was an IRA leader in West Belfast. Adams subsequently publicly further denied Price's allegations, stating that the reason for them was that she was opposed to the Provisional Irish Republican Army's abandonment of paramilitary warfare in favour of politics in 1994, in the facilitation of which Adams had been a key figure.


title: Dolours Price

text: Oral historians at Boston College interviewed both Dolours Price and her fellow IRA paramilitary Brendan Hughes between 2001 and 2006. The two giving detailed interviews for the historical record of the activities in the IRA, which were recorded on condition that the content of the interviews was not to be released during their lifetimes. Prior to Price's death, in May 2011, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) subpoenaed the material, possibly as part of an investigation into the disappearance of a number of people in Northern Ireland during the 1970s. In June 2011, the college filed a motion to quash the subpoena. A spokesman for the college stated that "our position is that the premature release of the tapes could threaten the safety of the participants, the enterprise of oral history, and the ongoing peace and reconciliation process in Northern Ireland." In June 2011, US federal prosecutors asked a judge to require the college to release the tapes to comply with treaty obligations with the United Kingdom. On 6 July 2012, the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit agreed with the government's position that the subpoena should stand. On 17 October 2012, the United States Supreme Court temporarily blocked the college from handing over the interview tapes. In January 2013 Price died, and in April 2013, the Supreme Court turned away an appeal that sought to keep the interviews from being supplied to the PSNI. The order left in place a lower court ruling that ordered Boston College to give the Justice Department portions of recorded interviews with Dolours Price. Federal officials wanted to forward the recordings to police investigating the murder of Jean McConville.


title: Dolours Price

text: On 24 January 2013 Price was found dead at her Malahide, County Dublin home, from a toxic effect of mixing prescribed sedative and anti-depressant medication. The inquest returned a verdict of death by misadventure.


title: Coffee Stain Studios

text: Coffee Stain Studios AB is a Swedish video game developer based in Skövde. Founded in 2010 by nine University of Skövde students, the company is best known for "Goat Simulator," which was released in April 2014, and "Satisfactory", released as an early access game in 2019. Their parent holding company also operates Coffee Stain Publishing, a publisher, and majority-owns developers Coffee Stain North (formerly Gone North Games) and Lavapotion. In November 2018, the Coffee Stain group was acquired by THQ Nordic AB (later known as Embracer Group).


title: Coffee Stain Studios

text: Coffee Stain Studios was founded in 2010 in Skövde, Sweden, by a group of nine students at the University of Skövde: Anton Westbergh, Johannes Aspeby, Mikael Mård, Oscar Jilsén, Gustaf Tivander, Daniel Lundwall, Markus Rännare, Joakim Sjöö and Stefan Hanna. Their first game, "I Love Strawberries", was released at the end of that year for iOS by Atari.


title: Coffee Stain Studios

text: In 2010, Coffee Stain participated in "Make Something Unreal", a modding competition for "Unreal Tournament 3" held by Epic Games and Intel, with their mod, "Sanctum". The mod was received well, leading Coffee Stain to adopt the Unreal Development Kit to develop "Sanctum" into a standalone game. In March the following year, the company struck a five-year licensing agreement with Epic for their Unreal Engine 3 technology. "Sanctum" as a standalone game was released in April 2011, and was followed by a sequel, "Sanctum 2", in May 2013. In February 2014, Coffee Stain acquired the rights for "I Love Strawberries" from Atari and re-released the game for iOS with some improvements.


title: Coffee Stain Studios

text: Coffee Stain gained significant recognition with their April 2014 release of "Goat Simulator". While the title received mixed critical reviews, as it was released in a purposely buggy state to take advantage of its ragdoll physics, it became highly successful through Let's Play videos and live streamers. By August 2014, "Goat Simulator" had outperformed all sales of the studio's previous games combined, and had generated over in revenue by March 2016.


title: Coffee Stain Studios

text: On 23 February 2017, Coffee Stain announced Coffee Stain Publishing, a subsidiary that would act as the publishing entity within the Coffee Stain group. The first title to be released through Coffee Stain Publishing was "Huntdown" by Swedish development team Easy Trigger Games. The following day, Coffee Stain acquired a minority stake in Danish developer Ghost Ship Games, becoming the publisher of their upcoming game, "Deep Rock Galactic". In April 2017, Coffee Stain also invested in newly founded, Gothenburg-based studio Lavapotion, gaining a minority stake. In July 2017, Daniel Kaplan, the first employee of Swedish developer Mojang, left Mojang to join Coffee Stain Publishing.


title: Coffee Stain Studios

text: On 30 January 2018, Coffee Stain announced Levelling the Playing Field, a funding initiative aimed at small companies that employ at least as many women as men and require at most (about ) in funding. Through this initiative, Coffee Stain invested in Danish developer Other Tales Interactive (a team of two women) in exchange for a minority stake. A second studio, Stockholm-based Kavalri, was invested in under this programme in November 2019. The following day, Coffee Stain acquired a majority stake in Gone North Games, a Swedish developer that had developed Coffee Stain-published "A Story About My Uncle" and downloadable content for "Goat Simulator". With the acquisition, Gone North Games was rebranded as Coffee Stain North.


title: Coffee Stain Studios

text: On 14 November 2018, the Coffee Stain group of companies and its intellectual property were acquired by Swedish holding company THQ Nordic AB (later known as Embracer Group) for (about ), with the potential of additional payouts should they reach certain milestones. Coffee Stain continues to operate independently within Embracer Group, with Coffee Stain co-founder Westbergh remaining chief executive officer. At the time, the Coffee Stain group had 45 employees, of which Coffee Stain Studios employed 24. This number rose to 25 by August 2019.


title: Coffee Stain Studios

text: Coffee Stain expanded Levelling the Playing Field in September 2020 to cover teams including racially and ethnically diverse people, women and non-binary people. Happy Broccoli Games became the third investment under this initiative. In August 2021, Embracer Group acquired Ghost Ship Games and Easy Trigger, having them both be under the umbrella of Coffee Stain Holding. In March 2022, Coffee Stain announced that they had partnered with Rare Earth Games, an Austrian developer owned by Coffee Stain's sister company Amplifier Game Invest, to publish a new co-op action IP.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: The comic book stories published by Marvel Comics since the 1940s have featured several noteworthy concepts besides its fictional characters, such as unique places and artifacts. There follows a list of those features.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: Certain places feature prominently in the Marvel Universe, some real-life, others fictional and unique to the setting; fictional places may appear in conjunction with, or even within, real-world locales.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: Alcatraz is a real-life island prison in San Francisco Bay that was operational in 1859–1963. In the Marvel universe, it held superhuman criminals in special section in the 1940s; the designation "the Alcatraz Annex" has been used in various Marvel handbooks to distinguish it from Alcatraz in general. First mentioned in "Marvel Mystery Comics" #26 (1941), when the android Human Torch's foe the Parrot was being transported there. Later seen in "Human Torch" #8 (1942), when the golden age Angel's foe the Python escaped.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: During the "Dark Reign" storyline, Alcatraz was occupied by H.A.M.M.E.R., who used it as a detention center for the mutants that the Dark Avengers apprehended.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: Alamogordo is a nuclear testing facility in New Mexico that held the Armageddon Man and perhaps others in suspended animation. First appeared in "X-Men" (vol. 2) #12 (1992).


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: Based on a remote island in international waters, the Cage is a prison that uses a special forcefield to depower inmates.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: The Cage was home to four prison gangs: a group of Maggia loyalists, the Skulls (a white supremacist gang loyal to the Red Skull), the Brothers (a black prison gang), and the Cruisers (a cabal of sexual predators who preyed on the other inmates as best as they could). The Cage was later shut down and its role was replaced by the Raft.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: Crossmore Prison is Her (Britannic) Majesty's Ultimate Security Prison that was previously known as Crossmoor.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: The Cube is a prison for super-powered beings such as Hulk, Abomination, Absorbing Man, and Leader. Its location is undisclosed and only high-ranking S.H.I.E.L.D. agents know of its existence. It has a special program where prisoners are brainwashed to become obedient soldiers.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: When last seen in " Civil War: Young Avengers & Runaways" #4, Marvel Boy had taken control of the entire facility. During the "Dark Reign" storyline, the Cube served as the Thunderbolts' base of operations.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: The Cube appears in "". First appearing in the episode "Breakout, Part 1", this version is a S.H.I.E.L.D. prison for gamma-powered supervillains and housed the Leader, the Abomination, Absorbing Man, Madman, the U-Foes, the Wrecking Crew, Bi-Beast, Radioactive Man, and Zzzax before a mysterious technological fault allowed them to escape. In the two-part episode "Gamma World", the Leader uses the Cube as a staging ground to turn the world into gamma monsters before the Avengers defeat him.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: The Ice Box is a Canadian maximum security prison. The Ice Box held a crime lord named Ivan the Terrible.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: The Ice Box appears in the 2018 film "Deadpool 2", housing mutant fugitives such as Deadpool, Rusty Collins, Black Tom Cassidy, and the Juggernaut.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: Also known as the Pym Experimental Prison #1 (and ironically dubbed "The Big House"), inmates in the Lang Memorial Penitentiary are shrunk down using Pym particles for cheaper storage and easier control. It is also known as the "Ant Hill" due to operators using versions of the Ant-Man helmet to influence ants to act as security within the prison.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: Known inmates of the facility were 8-Ball, Absorbing Man, Dragon Man, Electro, Figment, Grey Gargoyle, Mad Thinker, Mandrill, Rhino, Sandman, Scarecrow, Scorpion, Silencer, Southpaw, Titania, Tiger Shark, the U-Foes (Ironclad, Vapor, Vector, X-Ray), Vermin, Whirlwind, and the Wrecking Crew (Wrecker, Bulldozer, Piledriver, Thunderball).


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: The Big House appears in "". First introduced in the eponymous micro-series episode "The Big House" (later incorporated into the first-season episode, "The Man in the Ant Hill"), it is established as a miniaturized prison for superhuman criminals developed by Hank Pym for S.H.I.E.L.D., housed inside a single room on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier and internally maintained by benign incarnations of Ultron. Some of its most notable inmates include the Mad Thinker, Whirlwind, Grey Gargoyle, and members of the Serpent Society. The placement within the Helicarrier proves disastrous in the series premiere, , as a massive prison escape across several superhuman penitentiaries results in the Big House growing to full size, causing enough internal damage to cause the Helicarrier to crash.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: Created in "Marvel Two-in-One" #42 (August 1978) by writers Mark Gruenwald and Ralph Macchio, Project Pegasus (Potential Energy Group, Alternate Sources, United States) was originally intended to research alternative (and unusual) forms of energy. It was later used as a prison for super-powered individuals with energy-based powers. It was originally located in the Adirondack Mountains, New York.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: Several heroes have served terms working security at the facility, including the Thing and Quasar. At one time, it also served as a temporary home for the Squadron Supreme when they were exiled from their own universe.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: In the "Ultimate Marvel" reality, P.E.G.A.S.U.S. appeared in the series Ultimate Power. This Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S was located in Devil's Point, Wyoming. It was a S.H.I.E.L.D. program that served to store all objects of mysterious origin or unexplained power that United States authorities had accumulated over the years, in which every precaution was made to keep the objects safe. Originally, Project Pegasus was the center of "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s universe" (something that the recent directors of S.H.I.E.L.D., Carol Danvers and Nick Fury, were completely unaware of). It was later reduced to a storage house, but still kept some of the original facility which included an underground laboratory. Project Pegasus was attacked two times by the Serpent Squad, who had come for the Serpent Crown that was stored there, and was protected by the Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Iceman, and Rick Jones. P.E.G.A.S.U.S. also housed the Watcher Uatu after it was discovered by American personnel at Project Rebirth, until Uatu was "activated" and forewarned the Fantastic Four, Carol Danvers, and P.E.G.A.S.U.S.'s overseer, Wendell Vaughn, about an upcoming cataclysm before it disappeared. Following the events of Ultimatum, Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. was put on alert in the wake of unexplained attacks on the Baxter Building and Roxxon Industries. P.E.G.A.S.U.S.'s personnel were aided by Captain Mahr-Vehl, but Mahr-Vehl was infected with an unknown virus and went berserk, attacking P.E.G.A.S.U.S. personnel. Mahr-Vehl was transported away by Rick Jones/Nova, but that left Project P.E.G.A.S.U.S. vulnerable. It was invaded by the true instigator of the attacks, Reed Richards, who pilfered the facility's valuable possessions.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: The Raft is a prison facility for super-human criminals (predominantly supervillains). Created by writer Brian Michael Bendis and artist David Finch, it first appeared in "The New Avengers" #1 (2005) as the "Maximum-Maximum Security" wing of the Ryker's Island Maximum Security Penitentiary. The Raft is introduced as the setting of a large-scale prison break, with the New Avengers being concerned when their analysis of computer records shows that some of the Raft's inmates are listed as having been dead for years. One of the former guards notes that the prisoners developed "hierarchies", congregating with others who share some aspect of their powers or nature. Crossfire, for example, formed a small gang with Controller, Corruptor, Mandrill and Mister Fear, who all can manipulate others' minds.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: The Raft is the setting of a multi-part story in "Spider-Man's Tangled Web" featuring Tombstone as a villain-protagonist.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: The Raft was later converted into Spider-Island Two by Otto Octavius (in Peter Parker's body) until it was destroyed by the Goblin King.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane was a maximum-security asylum for the mentally ill. Many insane murderers and supervillains were kept at Ravencroft.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: The institute is officially opened in "Web of Spider-Man" Annual #10 (1994). The institute is featured in a number of Spider-Man storylines. Dr. Ashley Kafka was the founder and first director of Ravencroft. John Jameson was head of security. Both were fired in "The Spectacular Spider-Man" #246 and Dr. Leonard Samson became Ravencroft's new director. In Leonard Samson's next appearance, he owned a private practice instead of running the institute.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: The institute reappeared in "Vengeance of the Moon Knight". In this incarnation, it housed mostly non-superpowered psychopaths and had an imposing metal front gate with a Gothic facade similar to DC's Arkham Asylum.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: Known patients at Ravencroft include Carnage, Chameleon, D.K., Doctor Octopus, Electro, Green Goblin, Gale, Jackal, Massacre, Mayhem, Mysterio, Prism, Pyromania, Ramon Grant, Shriek, Venom, Vulture, and Webber.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: The storyline after "Absolute Carnage", "Ruins of Ravencroft" eventually explains its true origin. It turns out that the institute is more than just for the criminally insane. It used to act as a staging area for superhuman experiments, particularly supernaturals such as for Dracula in centuries ago prior to being raided by Captain America-Steve Rogers and Bucky (now a Winter Soldier in the present) during World War II in the 20th century.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: Ryker's Island is the Marvel Universe counterpart to the real-world Rikers Island, New York City's largest jail facility, which also includes the 415 acre (1.7 km) island on which it sits.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: The Ryker's houses both conventional criminals and costumed offenders lacking superpowers. Daredevil is held there after his arrest in "Daredevil" (vol. 2) #80.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: In "The Amazing Spider-Man" (vol. 4) #1, Ryker's Island has been renamed the "Cellar" when it was bought and improved by Empire Unlimited.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: Others held there include Alistair Smythe, Blacklash, Black Tarantula, Blizzard, the Brotherhood of Mutants (Avalanche, Blob, Destiny, Mystique, Pyro), Bullseye, Carnage, Chemistro, Cheshire Cat, Cobra, Commanche, Dontrell "Cockroach" Hamilton, Enforcers (Fancy Dan, Montana, Ox II), Griffin, Hood, Jigsaw, Kingpin, Melter, Mister Hyde, Mr. Fish II, Nitro, Punisher, Rhino, Sandman, Spear, Spider-Man, Turk Barrett, Ulik, Venom, Vin Gonzales, Wizard, and the Wrecking Crew (Bulldozer, Piledriver, Thunderball, Wrecker).


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: Seagate Prison (also called "Little Alcatraz") where the wrongly convicted Carl Lucas agreed to become a test subject for Dr. Noah Burstein. These experiments lead to him gaining super powers. He changed his name to Luke Cage.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: Known inmates of Seagate Prison are Beetle, Comanche, Crimebuster (Eugene Mason), Noah Burstein, Plantman, Robert Rackham, and Shades.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: Seagate Prison appears in the Marvel Cinematic Universe Marvel One-Shot "All Hail the King" and the Netflix series "Luke Cage". Justin Hammer, Trevor Slattery, Luke Cage, Comanche, and Shades were all inmates, while Noah Burstein and Reva Connors were among Seagate's staff.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: The United States Maximum Security Installation for the Incarceration of Superhuman Criminals., known as The Vault, is a defunct prison facility for super-human criminals (predominantly supervillains) in Marvel Comics' Marvel Universe. It first appeared in "The Avengers" Annual #15 (1986) and figured prominently in the 1990 Marvel crossover "Acts of Vengeance". It was destroyed in "Heroes for Hire" #1 (February 1997).


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: Anvil is a penal colony on the planet Annoval XIV. It was the site of an attempted breakout by Nebula. First appeared in "Silver Surfer" (vol. 3) #74 (1993).


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: The Kyln were a series of artificial moons at the edge of known space, which served both as a superhuman prison and a source of nearly unlimited power. Operations at the Kyln were overseen by the Nova Corps. All life on the Kyln moons was extinguished in "Annihilation Prologue" #1.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: The Kyln appears as a Nova Corps prison in the film "Guardians of the Galaxy". Before coming together, the members of the Guardians of the Galaxy had been imprisoned here alongside other unnamed inmates where some of them have personal issues with Gamora. The Kyln was later destroyed by Nebula on Ronan the Accuser's orders to "cleanse" it.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: Introduced in "" #5, it is a prison originally constructed to house super-villains but which acted as a holding facility for unregistered heroes during the civil war. The portal to the prison is operated by S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. The prison itself is an automated facility. Designed by Reed Richards and built by Stark Enterprises and Fantastic Four Inc., it is located in the Negative Zone. The inmates call the facility "Fantasy Island" and "Wonderland", probably because prisoners who are unable to manipulate technology to their own ends are connected to virtual reality systems.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: It is also referred to as "File 42" due to it being the 42nd item on a list written by Tony Stark, Reed Richards and Hank Pym of ways to make a world with super-powered beings safer. The prison is an extremely secure, clean facility with cells custom-designed for each inhabitant. Notable inmates during the war include Iron Fist (Daredevil stand-in), Robbie Baldwin and Cloak and Dagger. After the war, it is now used for super-villains, and was known to house at the very least Taskmaster and Lady Deathstrike until Taskmaster made a deal with Camp Hammond to become an instructor and Lady Deathstrike somehow escaped as she appeared in X-Men: Messiah Complex. However, the prison was later overrun by Negative Zone ruler Blastaar.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: Prison 42 appears in the "" season 2 episode "Assault on 42", without the Civil War background as the event never happened in the cartoon's continuity. Instead, it simply serves as a new prison for superpowered individuals which is eventually attacked by Annihilus.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: A 31st-century prison planet in the Guardians of the Galaxy universe, shown in "Guardians of the Galaxy" #21 and #51–53. Known inmates of Stockade have included Charlie-27, Tork and Teju.


title: Features of the Marvel Universe

text: Some items have been created specifically for the Marvel Universe and many of them carry immense powers:


title: Kalifornia

text: Kalifornia is a 1993 American road thriller film directed by Dominic Sena, in his feature film directorial debut. It stars Brad Pitt, Juliette Lewis, David Duchovny, and Michelle Forbes. The film tells the story of a journalist (Duchovny) and his photographer girlfriend (Forbes) traveling cross-country to research serial killings, who unwittingly carpool with a psychopath (Pitt) and his childlike girlfriend (Lewis).


title: Kalifornia

text: Filmed in Georgia and rural inland California in the spring of 1993, "Kalifornia" premiered at the Montreal World Film Festival on August 27, 1993, where it was awarded two competition prizes. It was released theatrically the following week in the United States, but was a box office bomb, grossing $2.4 million against a nearly $9 million budget. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with some praising its art house sensibility, while others dismissed it as a violent exploitation film. Despite this, the film's acting was largely praised, and critic Roger Ebert heralded the performances of Pitt and Lewis among the best he had ever seen. The film was nominated for three Saturn Awards in 1994, including for Best Horror Film.


title: Kalifornia

text: Brian Kessler is a graduate student and journalist whose article about serial killers has gotten him an offer for a book deal. He and his girlfriend Carrie Laughlin, an avant garde photographer, decide to relocate to California in hopes of enriching their careers. The two plot their journey from Louisville, Kentucky, to Los Angeles, planning to visit infamous murder sites along the way which Carrie can photograph for Brian's book. Short on funds, Brian posts a ride-share ad on the university campus.


title: Kalifornia

text: Meanwhile, psychopathic parolee Early Grayce has just lost his job. His parole officer learns of this and comes to the trailer park where Early lives with his naïve girlfriend Adele Corners. Early refuses the officer's offer of a job as a janitor at the university, saying he wants to leave the state, but the officer pressures him into keeping his appointment for the job interview. When Early arrives at the campus, he sees the ride-share ad and calls Brian, who agrees to meet him the following day. Early sends Adele ahead, then murders his landlord before joining her to wait for Brian and Carrie. Carrie is reluctant about riding with the couple given their rough appearance, but Brian encourages her to give them a chance. On the road, unbeknown to his companions, Early murders a man in a gas station bathroom and steals his money. When they arrive at their first hotel, Early cuts Adele's long hair shorter to try to match Carrie's.


title: Kalifornia

text: At another hotel, Early invites Brian out to play pool, leaving Adele and Carrie alone together. Adele explains that her mother did not approve of her relationship because Early had just been released from prison. Adele reveals to Carrie that she suffered a vicious gang rape and that she views Early as her protector, even though he sometimes "punishes" her. While Carrie and Adele drink beer, Adele also admits to Carrie that Early forbids her to smoke or drink. Meanwhile, at a local bar, Early assaults a man who confronts Brian. Later on during the road-trip, Early introduces Brian to pistol shooting in a remote, unnamed location.


title: Kalifornia

text: Carrie is alarmed by Brian's growing fascination with Early, and by Brian's nonchalant response to the news that Early is a convicted felon. After catching Early and Adele having sex in the car, she gives Brian an ultimatum: either they rid themselves of the pair, or she will leave. At a desert gas station, Carrie glimpses a news report about Early being a suspected murderer. Early kills the gas station attendant in front of Carrie and continues the trip with the couple as hostages. At an abandoned mine camp, the party encounter two police officers whom Early shoots and kills. They next come to the home of an elderly couple in the desert. Early beats the man to death, but Adele allows the woman to flee.


title: Kalifornia

text: When Early confronts Adele about letting the woman free, she hits him in the face with a cactus and chastises him, after which he shoots her to death. He then knocks Brian unconscious before kidnapping Carrie, driving her to the abandoned Dreamland nuclear testing site on the California-Nevada border. Early forces Carrie to dress in Adele's clothes and the film implies that he rapes her off-camera. Brian regains consciousness, and the elderly woman gives him the keys to her truck. Brian follows Early to the test site and attacks him, hitting him in the face with a shovel. Brian finds Carrie, who appears to be in shock, handcuffed to a bed in an abandoned house. Early, who was only stunned, attacks Brian and they struggle. Early is hit over the head by Carrie with the limb from a nuclear test mannequin. When he continues the attack, Brian shoots and kills him.


title: Kalifornia

text: Some time later, Brian and Carrie are living in an oceanfront house in Malibu. As Brian sifts through tapes made with his voice recorder during their trip, Carrie tells him that a gallery in Venice is interested in her art. Brian responds by suggesting they go out to celebrate. As they depart, Brian unintentionally leaves a recording running, which reveals a "thank you" message Adele covertly left at the end of a tape.


title: Kalifornia

text: In "Lost Highways: An Illustrated History of Road Movies" writers Jack Sargeant and Stephanie Watson note that the film presents doubled images of the two couples, "contrary rituals of affirmation" between Early and Adele, and Brian and Carrie, which demonstrate their social and class-related disparities. Sargeant and Watson also interpret the character of Carrie as an androgyne that "offers a threat to order" in the dynamics among Early, Adele, and Brian.


title: Kalifornia

text: Film scholar Charles Derry views "Kalifornia" as part of a historical trend of serial killer films released in the early 1990s, popularized by the success of Jonathan Demme's "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991). Derry interprets the film's misspelled title as a "political attack on those fascist qualities within AmeriKa which breed such violence," and also draws parallels between its aesthetic elements to those of "Psycho" (1960). Furthermore, Derry considers the climactic sequence setting at the Dreamland nuclear testing site as an "image of Armageddon" symbolic of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings, which themselves "should be considered government-sanctioned serial killings on a massive scale."


title: Kalifornia

text: Originally titled "California", the script was written by Tim Metcalfe with Stephen Levy in 1987. Metcalfe later commented their intentions were "to scare an audience, to comment on our national obsession with 'true crime' stories, and to punish myself for my morbid preoccupation with the subject of murder and murderers." The script was optioned in November 1990 by Propaganda Films, by request of director Dominic Sena. Sena would go on to mention his positive impression on the script was mainly based on the premise and the character of Early Grayce.


title: Kalifornia

text: Between November 1990 and March 1991, Metcalfe completed two rewrites of the script to implement changes requested by Sena and Propaganda Films. The characters of Brian and Carrie were given professions as a writer and a photographer, respectively, while retaining the original premise to share a ride with a serial killer. Metcalfe disagreed on the direction the script was being developed, while Sena and the producers found his rewrites "uninspiring". In March 1991, Metcalfe was fired from the project.


title: Kalifornia

text: Without the budget to hire another writer, Sena, along with his two producers, spent another year writing ten subsequent drafts of the script. Their contributions included the voice-over narration of the character of Brian, along with a change of tone from a black comedy to a more violent thriller. Sena maintained the rewrites helped them to secure the cast, as well as an increase to the originally proposed budget of $4.5 million.


title: Kalifornia

text: Brad Pitt was cast as the violent Early Grayce, as he had been seeking out a role that was at odds with the wholesome "pretty boy" image he had portrayed in "Thelma & Louise" (1991) and "A River Runs Through It" (1992). Juliette Lewis was cast in the role while still completing production on Martin Scorsese's "Cape Fear" (1991), and had been in a relationship with Pitt at the time. In the role of Carrie, Michelle Forbes was cast after she completed an audition in Los Angeles, as Sena felt she possessed the cool aloofness of the character. The role of Brian Kessler was the last to be cast, with David Duchovny ultimately receiving the role after several screen tests with Pitt, Lewis, and Forbes.


title: Kalifornia

text: Filming of "Kalifornia" began in the late spring of 1992. Some of the film's early scenes were shot in an old industrial area west of downtown Atlanta and in the Castleberry Hill neighborhood, after which the production moved westward through various locations in California. On June 28, 1992, while filming at a gas station in rural California, the production was temporarily halted following a 7.5 magnitude earthquake.


title: Kalifornia

text: Sena recalled the shoot being extremely difficult, with the shooting schedule sometimes allowing only one day in certain locations. According to Sena, throughout the production, Pitt and Lewis, who were a couple at the time, would go home and work on lines together during the evenings. Producer Steve Golin recounted during the shoot that "all four of [the main cast] have been so pro, I've been impressed. They have been working ridiculous hours under conditions that are not star-like. The hotels in the desert are not luxurious; they get a room with a swamp cooler, they don't even have air conditioning. It's a rough show."


title: Kalifornia

text: Other songs featured in the film that are not included on the soundtrack include "89 Lines" by Daniel O'Brien, "Seven Days" by Hugh Harris, "Playin' in the Dirt" by Heather Myles, "Strong Enough" by Sheryl Crow, "Come Home" by Pere Ubu, "(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66" by Asleep at the Wheel, "Symphony No. 8 in F Major Op. 93" by Ludwig van Beethoven and Brad Pitt partially singing part of Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd.


title: Kalifornia

text: After premiering at the Montreal World Film Festival in August 1993, "Kalifornia" was released theatrically in the United States on September 3, 1993 at 359 theaters. The film was a box office bomb, only grossing $2,395,231 against an $8.5 million budget. The film opened at number 17 at the U.S. box office during its opening weekend with a $1.1 million gross, averaging $3,228 per theater.


title: Kalifornia

text: "Kalifornia" received generally mixed reviews. It holds a 59% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an average score of 6.19/10, sampled from 32 reviews. The site's consensus reads: "Visually strong and featuring a potently feral performance from Brad Pitt, "Kalifornia" is a tonally uneven thriller marked by all-too-obvious themes". On Metacritic, the film has a score of 49 out of 100, determined from 17 critics' reviews, signifying "mixed or average reviews." Film scholar Robert Cettl noted in his book "Serial Killer Cinema" that, upon its release, ""Kalifornia" was both praised as an insightful demystification of the serial killer, and vilified as a glorification of nihilistic violence."


title: Kalifornia

text: Roger Ebert of the "Chicago Sun-Times" lauded the film, awarding it a full four stars and describing it as "unflinchingly honest, and so well acted that for most of the film I abandoned any detachment and just watched it as if I were observing the lives of real people." Ebert went on to note that Pitt and Lewis give "two of the most harrowing and convincing performances I've ever seen." Leonard Klady of "Variety" also praised the performances of the lead cast and likened the film to Charles Laughton's "The Night of the Hunter" (1955), deeming it "an extremely handsome production imbued with a chilling, surrealistic sensibility." Janet Maslin of "The New York Times" described the film as "an exercise in contrasting personalities, with Ms. Lewis's Adele by far the most arresting," but added that the film "is indeed good-looking, with its striking desert landscapes nicely photographed by Bojan Bazelli, and with costumes by Kelle Kutsugaras that say everything -- and more -- about the people who wear them. If looks were everything, maybe they'd be on the right track."


title: Kalifornia

text: Richard Harrington of "The Washington Post" heralded the film's aesthetic elements, writing that it "is so beautifully filmed by Bojan Bazelli, and so skillfully edited, that its art house surface belies its exploitation content, making this a trip through a cool world rather than a cruel one." The "Chicago Tribune"s Gene Siskel echoed a similar sentiment regarding the relationship between the film's artistic merit and its representation of violence, noting: "["Kalifornia" is] yet another terribly violent film about a serial killer. And although the script suffers from an ending that doesn't have that much to say that's fresh about remorseless murderers, the trip is worth taking because we meet four indelible characters in one compelling scene after another." Joe Brown of "The Washington Post" was dismissive of the film on the grounds of its violent material, deeming it a "new nadir in nauseating nihilism." Writing for the "Los Angeles Times", Kenneth Turan noted that though the film is visually "slick and stylish," it "doesn't make the encroaching mayhem any easier to take," and felt that the performances of Pitt and Lewis registered as "mannered and even a trifle repetitive."


title: Kalifornia

text: Some critics, such as Peter Travers of "Rolling Stone", felt certain elements of the script were "preposterous," while the "Chicago Tribune"s Mark Caro deemed it a "pretentious B movie." Owen Gleiberman of "Entertainment Weekly" made similar criticisms, writing that, "from its inception, "Kalifornia"...  throws all dramatic sense out the window," and ultimately described it as a "a film-school thesis gone disastrously wrong." Owen McNally of the "Hartford Courant", though praising of the performances, wrote: "If you hop aboard this sick, unjoyful ride, you'd better bail out early. Unsafe at any speed, this dramatic vehicle goes up in flames, consumed by a lethally defective mix of pomposity and pretension."


title: Kalifornia

text: PolyGram Home Video first released "Kalifornia" on VHS and DVD on November 18, 1997. The DVD edition featured both unrated and theatrical cuts of the film in pan and scan and widescreen aspect ratios. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) Home Entertainment released the film again on DVD in 2000 before reissuing the unrated cut alone on Blu-ray and DVD in August 2010. On March 5, 2019, Shout! Factory released a 2-disc special edition Blu-ray of the film under their Shout! Select label, featuring both the unrated and theatrical cuts, as well as a new interview with director Dominic Sena. This edition marks the first time the theatrical cut has been made available on Blu-ray.


title: Kalifornia

text: Following the completion of the film, DC Comics commissioned a comic book adaptation from writer Chuck Dixon and artist Duncan Fegredo. Fegredo recalled the 32-page adaptation was planned to be released as a supplementary for the film's video release. The adaptation was never published, though it got as far as the completion of some coloring work done by Danny Vozzo. Fegredo has speculated this was due to the demise of Gramercy Pictures, a production company involved handling the rights. An uncolored version, complete with Fegredo's original cover art, has since been uploaded to the Internet.


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: The wedge-tailed eagle (Aquila audax) is the largest bird of prey in the continent of Australia. It is also found in southern New Guinea to the north and is distributed as far south as the state of Tasmania. Adults of this species have long, broad wings, fully feathered legs, an unmistakable wedge-shaped tail, an elongated maxilla, a strong beak and powerful feet. The wedge-tailed eagle is one of 12 species of large, predominantly dark-coloured booted eagles in the genus "Aquila" found worldwide. Genetic research has clearly indicated that the wedge-tailed eagle is fairly closely-related to other, generally large members of the "Aquila" genus. A large brown-to-black bird of prey, it has a maximum reported wingspan of and a length of up to .


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: The wedge-tailed eagle is one of its native continent's most generalized birds of prey. They reside in most habitats present in Australia, ranging from desert and semi-desert to plains to mountainous areas to forest, even sometimes tropical rainforests. Preferred habitats, however, tend towards those that have a fairly varied topography including rocky areas, some open terrain and native woodlots such as "Eucalyptus" stands.


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: The wedge-tailed eagle is one of the world's most powerful avian predators. Although a true generalist which hunts a wide range of prey, including birds, reptiles and, rarely, other taxa, this species is by and large a mammal predator. The introduction of the European rabbit ("Oryctolagus cuniculus") has been a boon to the wedge-tailed eagle and they hunt these and other invasive species in large volume, although the wedge-tailed eagle otherwise generally lives off of marsupials, including many surprisingly large macropods. Additionally, wedge-tailed eagles often eat not inconsiderable amounts of carrion, especially while young. Wedge-tailed eagles tend to pair for several years, possibly mating for life.


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: This species generally constructs a large stick nest in an ample tree, normally the largest in a stand, and lays typically two, although sometimes 1 to 4, eggs. Usually breeding efforts manage to produce one or two fledglings, which after a few months more tend to disperse widely. Nesting failures are usually attributable to human interference such as logging activity and other alterations, which both degrade habitats and cause disturbances. This species is known to be highly sensitive to human disturbance at the nest, which may lead to abandonment of the young. Although historically heavily persecuted by humans via poisonings and shootings, mostly for alleged predation on sheep, wedge-tailed eagles have proved to be exceptionally resilient and have quickly rebounded to similar or even higher than pre-colonization numbers, thanks in part to humans inadvertently providing several food sources such as rabbits and large volumes of roadkills.


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: The species was first described by the English ornithologist John Latham in 1801 under the binomial name "Vultur audax". The genus "Vultur" is today used only for a completely unrelated bird of the New World vulture family, the Andean condor ("Vultur gryphus"). The specific scientific name for the species "audax", is derived from the Latin "audac", meaning “bold”, indicative of the perceived disposition of these raptors, perhaps when hunting (although ironically this species is in general highly wary otherwise and even “timid” towards humans). At one time, the wedge-tailed eagle was classified in it is own monotypical genus "Uroaetus", perhaps due to its unique form. However, this species is clearly quite similar, in many respects of morphology, appearance, behaviour and life history, to other species in the "Aquila" genus. The eagles of the "Aquila" genus are part of the subfamily Aquilinae, within the larger Accipitridae family. The subfamily is commonly referred to as booted eagles or sometimes as true eagles. These species may be distinguished from most other accipitrids by the feathering covering their legs, regardless of distribution. With some 39 or so species, the Aquilinae is distributed on every continent, excluding Antarctica.


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: Via a variety of phylogenetic testing, largely via Mitochondrial DNA and Nuclear DNA genes, it has been determined that the wedge-tailed eagle clusters with certain other "Aquila" eagles. The species found to share the most genetic similarities is the Verreaux's eagle ("Aquila verreauxii") of Africa. However, the Gurney's eagle ("Aquila gurneyi"), a mostly allopatric but outwardly fairly similar eagle is clearly a very close relation of the wedge-tailed eagle and the two are likely sister species, most likely originating from the same radiation across the Indo-Pacific region. These species, the wedge-tailed, Gurney's and Verreaux's eagles, form a clade or a species complex with the well-known golden eagle ("Aquila chrysaetos"), the most widely distributed species in the entire accipitrid family, as well as outwardly dissimilar (smaller and paler-bellied yet also powerful) eagles like the Bonelli's eagle ("Aquila fasciata"), the African hawk-eagle ("Aquila spilogaster") and the Cassin's hawk-eagle ("Aquila africanus"), the latter three having once been considered members of a different genus. Beyond the aforementioned species, the four other "Aquila" species while outwardly similar to eagles such as golden and wedge-tailed eagles, being large, dark and brownish with long wings, are thought to form a separate clade based on genetic testing and are paraphyletic from the members of what can be called the golden eagle clade. Other related outliers from, currently from outside the "Aquila" genus, are the small-to-mid-sized "Clanga" or spotted eagle species and the widely found and quite small "Hieraeetus" eagles. One member of the latter genus contains the only other widely found Aquilinae eagle in Australia, the little eagle ("Hieraaetus morphnoides").


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: Two subspecies of wedge-tailed eagle are recognized. However, the separation of the two subspecies has been called into question, largely because the reported differences in both size and coloration can be attributed to clinal variation and some of the insular populations may still be at an intermediate stage of subspecific formation.


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: This is a very large and quite lanky eagle. It is characteristically black but can appear tar to charcoal brown depending on lighting and individual variation. Wedge-tailed eagles have a massive bill but possess a relatively small and rather flat head with a long, almost vulturine neck. Furthermore, they are distinctive for their prominent carpals and baggy feathered trousers. The species tends to perch conspicuously on dead trees, telegraph poles, rocks or the open ground at times. Between the bill size, elongated shape and prominent shoulders this species is highly distinctive, with its long wings extend well down long and markedly wedge-tipped tail while perched. They have a large proportion of bare facial skin is thought to be an adaptation to the warm climate not to carrion eating, as the non-carrion eating Verreaux's eagle has similar facial feathering and the golden eagle eats carrion too. Against the blackish plumage, the tawny-rufous hackles on the neck, forming a lanceolated shape, as well as the pale brown to rufous crissum and narrow mottled grey-brown band across the greater wing coverts all stand out well. The sexes are indistinguishable by plumage. The juvenile is mainly darkish brown with extensive rufous feather edging and a paler, fairly streaky head. Furthermore, the juvenile has a lighter brown crissum, light reddish brown to golden nape with similar colouring extending sometimes to the back and wing band. The wing band is considerably more prominent than those of adults, extending to the median and sometimes the lesser coverts. Rarely, a juvenile may be all dull black, lacking rufous edges or a wing band. The young eagles are much the same by the 2nd through the 4th years though may be almost invariably visibly in moult and with a narrowing wing band. They become darker around the 5th year with a red-brown nape and a still narrowing wing band. Full mature plumage is not attained until the 7th or 8th year, although sexual maturity can be considered as early as 5. Adults have dark brown eyes, while the juvenile has similar but usually slightly darker eyes. Wedge-tailed eagles are typically creamy white on the cere and feet although these can be dull yellow, more so in juveniles than adults. The wedge-tailed eagle has a unique moult process in that they moult almost continuously and very slowly, and it may take 3 or more years for an eagle of the species to complete a moult. Moults are arrested only at times of famine and happen so gradually as to not impede the flight or hunting capacities of an eagle.


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: In flight, wedge-tailed eagles appear as a very large dark raptor with a well-protruding head, long and relatively narrow-looking wings more or less parallel edged when soaring and most distinctly a long diamond-shaped tail. The shape is fairly dissimilar from any other raptor in the world. Juveniles tend to be broader winged in comparison. The wingspan is around 2.2 times greater than the total length. They tend to fly with rather loose but deep and powerful beats. Wedge-tailed eagles spend much time sailing along, looking quite stable and controlled even in strong winds. The species glides and soars on upswept wings with long splayed primaries often the ample tail may be upcurved at the edges often (or “dished”). The eagle often spreads its deep wing emarginations to reduce drag in high winds. Quite on the contrary to their superlative and controlled appearance once on the wing, flight for wedge-tailed eagles can be a struggle even in normal circumstances unless from it is from a pinnacle or somewhat windy and within the forest they may clamor about to reach the canopy with a "lack of grace". Gorged birds on the ground can be vulnerable due to being practically grounded, such as historically to Aboriginal hunters. Wedge-tailed eagles have been seen at more than in the air by human gliders. The adult is all blackish on the wing but for the tawny-rufous nape and greyish wing band (running less than a quarter of the way down the wing's width). Little relieves the dark coloration below but the pale brown to rufous crissum and the pale greyish bases to their flight feathers. Juvenile wedge-tailed eagles appear much browner although in general are not dissimilar in pattern below though the body and wings relative to adult. However, juveniles may show some paler mottling, of an off-rufous colour. Meanwhile, the juvenile's tail and most flight feathers are barred greyish which in turn contrast against the pale based primaries with black tips. Above, the juvenile bears much paler and more sandy rufous colour from the head to at least upper mantle and along broad wing band (as well as more than half the wing width). The lighter dorsal colour sometimes extends to much of the back and scapulars. Rare individual juvenile wedge-tailed eagles are dull black without wing band or paler edges. With much variation in individuals, generally as the young eagles age, the signature wing band shrinks incrementally and after 5th year the plumage darkens.


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: The female wedge-tailed eagle is one of the world's largest eagles. Its nearest rival in Australia for size is some 15% smaller linearly and 25% lighter in weight. As is typical in birds of prey, the female is larger than the male; although a few individuals are larger by only 0–17%, they average up to 33% larger. A full-grown female weighs between , while the smaller males weigh . Total length varies between and the wingspan typically is between . In 1930, the average weight and wingspans of 43 birds were and . The same average figures for a survey of 126 eagles in 1932 were and , respectively. According to one guide, the mean body mass of male wedge-tailed eagles is while that of females is listed as , which, if accurate, is one of the most extreme examples of size sexual dimorphism known in any bird of prey. However, another sample showed far less stark size differences, with 29 males weighing an average of and 29 females an average of . In the same sample, from the Nullarbor Plain, males averaged wingspan of (sample of 26) and body length of (sample 5) while females had an average wingspan of (sample 23) and body length of . However, the Nullarbor Plain eagles appear slightly smaller than wedge-tailed eagle sizes from other surveys, based on body mass and wing chord sizes. An average length for males of and was described for wedge-tailed eagles in Queensland. Another source claimed an average male weight of and average female body mass of . Yet another book lists males as averaging and females as averaging . A sample of 10 males averaged while 19 females weighed . The mean body mass of males in Tasmania was while that for females was .


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: The largest wingspan ever verified for an eagle was for this species. A female killed in Tasmania in 1931 had a wingspan of , and another female measured barely smaller at . Similar claims, however, have been made for the Steller's sea eagle ("Haliaeetus pelagicus"), which has been said to reach or exceed in wingspan. Reported claims of wedge-tailed eagles spanning and were unverified and deemed to be unreliable per Guinness World Records. This eagle's great length and wingspan place it among the largest eagles in the world, but its wings, at more than , and tail, at up to , are unusually elongated for its body weight, and nine or ten other eagle species regularly outweigh it. It is around the third heaviest "Aquila" species, outsized only somewhat by the golden eagle and slightly by the Verreaux's eagle, although it only slightly exceeds the weight of the Spanish imperial eagle ("Aquila adalberti"). Among the entire booted eagle subfamily, in addition to the two heavier "Aquila", it is outsized in bulk by the martial eagle ("Polemaetus bellicosus"), while the also long-tailed crowned eagle ("Stephanoaetus coronatus") can average of a roughly similar body mass to the wedge-tailed eagle, although the latter is marginally the heavier bird. The wedge-tailed is significantly exceeded in body mass by only a few eagles, especially the Steller's sea eagle and harpy eagle ("Harpia harpyja") and somewhat so by the Philippine eagle ("Pithecophaga jefferyi"), the white-tailed eagle ("Haliaeetus albicilla") and the bald eagle ("Haliaeetus leucocephalus"). However, it rivals the Steller's and harpy eagles and is known to be exceeded only by the Philippine eagle in total length. The wedge-tailed eagle's wingspan is the largest of any "Aquila", and is exceeded amongst all eagles probably only by the white-tailed and Steller's sea eagles in average spread though its average (not maximum) wingspan is rivaled by that of the martial eagle.


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: Among standard measurements, within the nominate subspecies, the wing chord of males may range from while that of the female is from . In Tasmania, the wing chord measured from in males and in females. In Nullarbor Plain, males averaged in wing chord while females averaged . Other Australian wedge-tailed eagles averaged in wing chord among males and among females. In Tasmania, the wing chord averaged in males and in females. The extreme tail length, slightly to greatly exceeding that of other "Aquila", is in males from , averaging in the Nullarbor eagles and in Tasmania, and from , averaging in Nullarbor and in Tasmania. Although they only slightly exceed in tail length the heavier two "Aquila" and crowned eagles and they can rival the tail lengths of the Philippine and the Harpiinae eagles, Tasmanian wedge-tailed eagles are quite likely to be the longest tailed of all modern eagles. The length of the tarsus may be from . The tarsus of 7 males averaged while that of 7 females averaged . In terms of bill measurements, the exposed culmen may range from in males and in females while total bill length (from the gape) is from and , in the sexes respectively. It is likely to be the largest billed "Aquila", a bit ahead of the imperial eagles and the Verreaux's eagle, behind only the larger "Haliaeetus" and Philippine eagles amongst all eagles. In Tasmania, culmen lengths averaged in males and in females while the total length of the bill averaged and . The hallux claw, the enlarged rear talon on the hind toe, is slightly smaller than that of a golden or Verreaux's eagle, even proportionately, but is by no mean small and is extremely sharp. According to one study, wedge-tailed eagles had a hallux claw of , ranging from , in males , ranging from in a sample of 10, in females. Another source listed the hallux claw of mainland Australian eagles as averaging in males and in females. Meanwhile, in Tasmanian eagles, the hallux claw averaged , ranging from , in males while in females the hallux claw averaged , ranging from . In terms of osteological structure and size, the wedge-tailed eagle is said to be proportional to other eagles, being notably smaller and less robust than the heaviest eagles such as Steller's and harpies but fairly similar in osteology in both structure and proportions to the golden eagle.


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: Their unique combination of large size, lanky build, long, diamond-shaped tail (though can be round-ended when both central feathers are moulted together), mainly black or rather dark plumage, and long wings seen when soaring or gliding make all ages of the wedge-tailed eagle fairly unmistakable in the majority of their range. The only main confusion species is often the black-breasted kite ("Hamirostra melanosternon"), which is surprisingly similar in colouring but is much smaller with a relatively short, squared tail and extensive clear white windows covering a good part of their wings. Juveniles of the white-bellied sea eagle ("Haliaeetus leucogaster"), at times mentioned as potentially confusable with a young wedge-tailed eagle, are much paler below with a rather different flight pattern: a short pale tail, bare legs, shorter, broader wings held in stiff dihedral. In New Guinea, the Gurney's eagle is more similar than those species in form and build but the Gurney's is somewhat smaller and more compact than the wedge-tailed eagle with rich yellow feet, a rather shorter rounded or faintly wedge-tipped tail, shorter and relatively broader wings (in adaptation to more forest-living). Furthermore, the Gurney's eagle has a much paler immature plumage. Although usually considered an island endemic, the Gurney's eagle is possibly capable of marine dispersals, as is the wedge-tailed eagle, that may lead to them to turn up in the forests of northern Australia and historical reports show that a rare vagrant of the species may indeed appear there. Papuan eagle ("Harpyopsis novaeguineae"), the only other island raptor in New Guinea that approaches the wedge-tailed in size is a highly distinct and forest-restricted species, being much paler, particularly below, with long bare legs and different proportions, more like a giant "Accipiter" with short rounded wings, a long, somewhat rounded tipped tail and a large, rounded head.


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: The wedge-tailed eagle is not a bird well known for its vocalization nor are they often heard. They may be silent for long stretches of time, possibly months, at least outside of breeding season. When vocalizations have been documented, it usually only near the nest and in aerial display and can be hard to hear unless at close range. The commonest calls for wedge-tailed eagles are high, rather thin whistles, sometimes transcribed as "I-see, I-see" followed by a short descending "see-tya". Also documented during the breeding season are various other whistles, yelps and squeals and an often rolling series. Characteristically, all their calls are surprisingly weak though the main call is sometimes considered to have a “melancholy” quality. The opinion on their call is not dissimilar to the golden eagle, whose voice is similarly considered unimpressive. Female calls in wedge-tailed eagles are similar but are generally lower and harsher than males.


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: Wedge-tailed eagles are found throughout Australia, including Tasmania and southern New Guinea in almost all habitats, though they tend to be more common in favourable habitat in southern and eastern Australia. In Australia, they may be found almost continuously all the way from the Cape York Peninsula in the north down to Wilsons Promontory National Park and Great Otway National Parks in the southern tips of the continent and from Shark Bay in the western side of the continent to Great Sandy National Park and Byron Bay in the east. They are widespread throughout the desert interior of Australia, however are rare or occur at low densities in the most arid parts of the continent, such as the Lake Eyre Basin. Offshore, the wedge-tailed eagle may be distributed in several of the larger and some of the smaller Australian islands. These include a majority of the Torres Strait Islands, Albany Island, Pipon Island, the isles of Bathurst Bay, many small isles in Queensland from Night Island down to the South Cumberland Islands, Fraser Island, Moreton Island, North Stradbroke Island, Montague Island, Kangaroo Island, the Nuyts Archipelago, Groote Eylandt and the Tiwi Islands. In Tasmania, they may be found essentially throughout as well as some isles of the Kent Group, Bass Strait, Flinders Island and Cape Barren Island. In New Guinea, the wedge-tailed eagle is highly range restricted and can be found in predominantly in the Trans-Fly savanna and grasslands and the general area around the Western Province, as well as in the Merauke Regency, with some isolated reports in Western New Guinea, the Bensbach River and the Oriomo River.


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: The wedge-tailed eagle inhabits an extremely wide range of habitats. Although range restricted relative to the golden eagle, it likely occupies a wider range of habitat types than likely any other "Aquila" eagle and indeed may outrival any booted eagle species in their usage of diverse habitats, being somewhat more akin to habitat generalist raptors such as "Buteo" buzzards. Assorted habitats known to host wedge-tailed eagles includes open woodland, savanna, heathland, grasslands, desert edge and semi-desert, subalpine forests, montane grasslands and mountain peaks, not-too-dense tropical rainforests, monsoon forests, dwarf conifer forests, some wetlands as well as regularly forays to coastal areas, though normally along the coasts they occur around plains somewhat away from the water. Favored habitat tends to be remote or rough country, at least partially wooded and not uncommonly varied with some rocky spots as well as in shrubland. Wedge-tailed eagles seem to prefer some dead trees to be present. They may occur around "Eucalyptus" woodland quite regularly, as well as "Acacia" woodland and mixed woodlands of "Casuarina cristata-Flindersia maculosa-Callitris" cypresses and also stands of "Casuarina cunninghamiana". A strong preference was detected for "C. cunninghamiana" alternatively with several "Eucalyptus" species was detected in the Australian Capital Territory, sloping ground allowing good access and access to tall, mature trees being paramount to the eagles in the study. Quite often they will be seen soaring over hills, mountains or escarpments as well as over flat plains, especially spinex grassland. Dense forest is typically avoided with glades and edge often sought out in forested areas. While they do occur in rich riparian woodlands, it is with relative scarcity despite this being where many other raptors of the nation concentrate. In the deserts of the Lake Eyre basin, they are often seen in gibber plains along treed watercourses and drainage basins, here often concentrated around "Eucalyptus" in stony creek beds. In the sandy desert areas of Western Australia, wedge-tailed eagles were once reasonably common but have largely vacated the region after the macropod prey they live off of there were all but hunted to extinction. Wedge-tailed eagles commonly occur from sea level up to about with seemingly no preference based on altitudinal level. A fairly pronounced liking for mountainous localities such as plateaus has been detected in a few studies of wedge-tailed eagle. One of the few habitat types considered to be strongly avoided by wedge-tailed eagles are areas intensively settled or cultivated areas. A slightly fading tendency to avoid human areas has been detected, perhaps as persecution rates have gone far down, and the wedge-tailed eagle may be seen near towns and villages in exurban and even suburban areas largely within bushland. However, the species is seldom seen other than as a flyover in more developed towns and cities. Additionally, it is not uncommon in manmade spots such as pasture areas, forestry clearings, and rolling farmland areas.


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: This impressive bird of prey spends much of the day perching in trees, on rocks as well as similar exposed lookout sites such as cliffs from which it has a good view of its surroundings. Alternatively, they may sit on the ground for long periods of time or watch from a lower point, such as or termite mounds or anthills. Now and then, it takes off from its perch to fly low over its territory. Especially whilst not breeding, wedge-tailed eagles spends a considerable amount of the day on the wing. Wedge-tailed eagles are highly aerial, soaring for hours on end without wingbeat and seemingly without effort, regularly reaching and sometimes considerably higher. The purpose of soaring has received little specific study in wedge-tailed eagles, but it is likely, as in other accipitrids, in large part for surveying the territory and advertising their presence to other eagles. During the intense heat of the middle part of the day, it often soars high in the air, circling up on the thermal currents that rise from the ground below. Often when on the wing, it is scarcely visible to the human's naked eye. Their keen eyesight extends into ultraviolet bands. With a visual perception some three times more acute than those of humans, one of the largest pecten oculi of any bird and an eye roughly as big as a small human's, they may be one of the most sharp-eyed birds in the world. The wedge-tailed eagle is a largely sedentary as expected of a raptor dwelling in the subtropics, although they also dwell in the tropics (far northern Australia and New Guinea) as well as in the temperate zone (Tasmania). However, juveniles of the species can be quite dispersive. In some cases, they have moved to a recorded distance of some . These extreme movements have been completed within 7 to 8 months after dispersal. More typically they move no farther than or so. The adult eagles can also be nomadic, though only in circumstances such as drought conditions. In turn this explains the species presence in places they don't breed, even adults. In addition to moving for drought in arid zone, also moves in highest part of New South Wales, e.g. the Snowy Mountains, the species often apparently vacates snow-covered alpine zone in winter. The small New Guinea population is apparently indistinguishable from the mainland race and so possibly result of recent colonization, although no records exist of migrating wedge-tailed eagles islands past the Torres Straits. However, it can be projected from its presence in various offshore islands its capacity for crossing straits ranging up to as far as apart. One post dispersal young eagle was observed to distribute from Kangaroo Island to the mainland, possibly a regular occurrence. Due to their tendency for wandering, some authors class the wedge-tailed eagles as a “partial or irruptive migrant”. However, while they are arguably irruptive, it does not fit the mold of a true migrant well since under normal circumstances adults are rather sedentary unless environmental changes force them to move.


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: The wedge-tailed eagle is the only bird that has a reputation for not infrequently attacking hang gliders and paragliders, although other eagles including the golden eagle have also been recorded to behave thusly. Based on the response the eagles show to the gliders, they presumably are defending their territory and treating the perceived intruder like another eagle. Cases are recorded of the birds damaging the fabric of these gliders with their talons as well as some other parts of the gliding apparatus, but not the humans themselves, has been reported. They have also been reported to attack and destroy unmanned aerial vehicles used for mining survey operations in Australia. The presence of a wedge-tailed eagle often causes panic among smaller birds, and as a result, aggressive species such as magpies (one of the most vulnerable types of passerine to eagle attacks), butcherbirds, wagtails, monarch flycatchers, lapwings, and miners as well as smaller birds of prey, including both accipitrids and falcons, any of which may aggressively mob eagles (see video). Multiple species may join the kerfuffle and mob them, especially while the eagles perched, often engaging in noisy calling, presumably meant to disorient the predator, and occasionally in physical attacks against the eagle, typically focused where the big, relatively lumbering eagles could not grasp the attacking birds. The wedge-tailed eagle usually does not engage its tormentors but sometimes rolls in the air to present talons whether perched or not. Sometimes wedge-tailed eagles appear to fight but this and other behaviours, especially between young eagles, may be interpreted as playful. Some such behaviours have included fetching sticks tossed by others, athletic flipping between juvenile eagles and even playing games with dogs, via floating above them until the dogs bark or leap then floating up until the dog settles and then repeating the “game”.


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: Flocking behaviour has been noted, similar to that of vultures (Cathartidae and Accipitridae) in other countries, when carrion is available.


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: The wedge-tailed eagle is one of the world's most powerful avian predators. Due to its formidable and dominating nature, it is sometimes nicknamed “King of Birds”, along with golden eagles. Prey is usually grabbed via a pounce or snatch during a gliding flight or a tail-chase from low quartering or transect flights. Prey is not infrequently spotted from a soaring flight and they may undertake a long, slanting stoop towards it. They may be able to spot prey from farther than a kilometer given their keen vision. Its typical hunting style is not all-together dissimilar from that of golden or Verreaux's eagles. Occasionally, a wedge-tailed eagle still hunts from a perch. Unsuccessful hunts typically exceed in number successful ones. Hunting habitat can be highly variably and can manage to capture prey in both open country and quite thick woodland or forest, though typically require an open understory in the latter. Almost all its prey is taken on the ground but to a lesser extent it may be taken from the tree canopy. They've been known to take birds such as currawongs and cockatoos by coming around them by surprise around a tree or by darting out in flight at close range for a brief tail-chase. Sometimes, an eagle may pull brushtail possums and other mammals from tree cavities, as well as young birds from a nest. They've been known to follow wildfires to search for fleeing animals or alternately tractors and other farm equipment for the same purpose. Wedge-tailed eagles occasionally pirate food from other predators. An eagle of the species can carry prey of at least .


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: Large animals may be attacked by pairs or, occasionally by groups, acting cooperatively. One record shows 15 wedge-tailed eagles hunting kangaroos, two at a time actively chasing then repeatedly being replaced by two more from the circling group overhead. Regardless of prey size and season, tandem hunts, mainly by breeding adult pairs or sometimes loosely associated young eagles, are not uncommon. Of 89 observed hunts in Central Australia around one-third were cooperative ones. As in other tandem hunting raptors, one eagle typically lies in wait generally unseen while the other eagle distracts and drives the prey towards it. When hunting domesticated prey, they've been seen to land near livestock mothers to intimidate them and separate their young, so they can attack the latter. Sometimes, wedge-tailed eagles may use fences to limit a prey's escape routes. In some cases, these eagles will attempt to force large prey such as kangaroos and dingos to fall off steep hillsides and injure themselves. At times, wedge-tailed eagles appear to hunt at earliest light or late twilight in order to come upon nocturnal prey such as hare-wallaby and bettongs. These eagles have been seen removing rabbits from traps and eating carrion in bright moonlight as well. At times, remarkably, wedge-tailed eagles have been covering large prey with vegetation, apparently to cache food too heavy to carry. Carrion is a major diet item, also; wedge-tails can spot the activity of ravens around a carcass from a great distance, and glide down to appropriate it. Carrion consumption is recorded in all season and contexts, although generally non-breeding birds are more likely to scavenge and young wedge-tailed eagles, even more so shortly post-dispersal, are thought to be far more likely to scavenge on carrion than adults generally. Wedge-tailed eagles are often seen by the roadside in rural Australia, feeding on animals that have been killed in collisions with vehicles. The importance of carrion relative to live prey has not been greatly studied but away from human development, especially roads, carrion is less likely to be encountered and eagles of all ages must presumably hunt to survive. In general, Australian accipitrids of many species not infrequently come to carrion and they along with large passerines like "Corvus" species and currawongs probably fulfill the niche that vultures do in other continents to some extent, albeit with considerably less specialization. Aggregations of wedge-tailed eagles may occur not infrequently at large carcasses, with up to 5–12 eagles or sometimes 20 gathering. A wedge-tailed eagle can gorge up to at a sitting and, when fulfilled, can lasts for an unusual amount of time, for up to weeks or even a month, before needing to hunt again, apparently due to the warmth of the environment. After feeding they may disgorge a relatively small pellet, long by wide and weighing some . Usually the diet is determined from a combination of reviewing these pellets along with loose prey remains.


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: The wedge-tailed eagle is a dietary generalist, opportunistically capturing a wide range of prey species. Its prey spectrum is quite broad, with well over 200 prey species documented to be taken and even this includes very few prey only from secondary accounts from Tasmania and New Guinea. The wedge-tailed eagles tends to prefer smallish to fairly large mammals as prey. However, they not infrequently take ample numbers of both birds and reptiles, along with scarcely other prey taxon. Out of 21 accrued dietary studies, 61.3% of prey items by number in the foods during nesting efforts were mammals, 21.6% were birds, 13.2% were reptiles, 2.1% by invertebrates, principally insects, 1.5% by fish, and almost no amphibians by number. Meanwhile, out of the 21, 13 studies calculated estimated biomass, and found that just shy of 90% of prey biomass was made of by mammals, 6.2% by birds and 3.4% by reptiles. Out of the "Aquila" genus, it is one of a few generalist species, however the wedge-tailed eagle is the "Aquila" most likely to typically attack the largest prey. Generally, this species prefers to attack birds and reptiles weighing over and mammals weighing over , although prey taken at times has varied from a few grams to more than sixteen times the weight of an individual eagle. A comparison estimate posited that around 2% of wedge-tailed eagle prey weighs less than , 4% of their prey weighs , 7% of their prey weighs , 10% weighs , 20% weighs , 25% weighs , 18% weighs and 14% weighs over . Projected from this comparison, the mean prey size for wedge-tailed eagles is estimated at , similar but just slightly ahead of the Verreaux's eagle and some 14% ahead of the golden eagle global mean prey size. Further studies estimated mean prey weight, showing the mean prey weigh in the Canberra-Australian Capital Territory region in three different studies was estimated to be , and , changing likely due to the shifting significances of leporids and larger macropods. In a small study from Armidale, New South Wales, it was estimated that mean prey weight was . It only ranks behind the crowned eagle and harpy eagle and rivals the martial eagle as the eagle likely to attack the largest prey on average.


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: While the introduction of invasive species to Australia has been generally having a negative to devastating effect on native animals and ecosystems, the wedge-tailed eagle is one of a few native species to largely benefit from these introductions. This is especially due to the introduction of the European rabbit, which were deliberately introduced repeatedly (abortively in 1859 and then via a concerted effect from 1937 to 1950), largely so the wealthy could hunt them. The wedge-tailed eagles quickly took to the rabbits as prey along with another introduced leporid, the European hare ("Lepus europaeus"). In almost every part of Australia, these eagles take rabbits in some numbers and they usually constitute the bulk of the prey species in most, if not all, Australian food studies. In some dietary studies rabbits have accounted for up to 89.2% of the diet by number and 86% by biomass, as in Bacchus Marsh, however they more typically range from 16% to 49% of the diet by number in various studies. One Canberra study found that 98.5% of the rabbits taken were adults. In the largest study near Canberra, over 5.5 years, 19.3% of the diet of wedge-tailed eagles was rabbits (12.7% of prey biomass) among 1421 prey items, so the eagles took a total of some 275 rabbits in the 11 to 17 studied territories of the area. A study estimated that mean weight of wild rabbits in Australia was , lower than estimated in the past. However, other studies estimated the mean weights of rabbits taken by wedge-tailed eagles as variously from or “usually over ”, infrequently reported to , size of the rabbits being perhaps limited the poorly-suited soil and environs of the Australian wildlands. Meanwhile, the European hare is neither as widely established nor as prolifically taken as rabbits by wedge-tailed eagles but are by no means neglected and a substantial meal. With a mean body mass of , hares have been as much as nearly 10% of the local diet and up to 14% of prey biomass in studies. Rabbit haemorrhagic disease was deliberately introduced to control the population of rabbits subsequent to 1995, followed more effectively by introduction of myxoma virus to limit the damage rabbits have inflicted on native vegetation and resultingly have competed native mammals like wallabies out of parts of their range. Ultimately, the rabbit population may have more than halved and locally have been some 90% reduced. As a matter of consensus, the wedge-tailed eagles do not appear to be adversely affected in major ways by the biological control of rabbits since they can revert to primarily taking native prey species quite readily. In the region of Broken Hill, White Cliffs and Cunnamulla, rabbits have gone down from accounting for 56–69% of the diet to 16–31% of it. Furthermore, wedge-tailed eagles have been known to successfully maintain population in the absence of any rabbits in a few areas.


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: Much more controversial at one time than hunting introduced rabbits and hares is the wedge-tailed eagle's occasional tendency to feed on and sometimes kill domesticated livestock animals. The predation of wedge-tailed eagles on young farm animals has been the primary historic driver for the persecution of the species. However, in no known study have domestic livestock been known to be primary prey. The closest association with them was in northwestern Queensland where lambs ("Ovis aries") made up 32.7% of prey in pellets and 17.1% in remains, accounting for 15–21% of the prey biomass, while juvenile pigs ("Sus scrofa domesticus") made up 7.3% of pellet remains and 22% of the biomass. Although it can be highly difficult, attempts have been made at parsing out whether the eagles had indeed killed the lambs rather than just lifting or dismantling them after finding them dead, as this eagle quite readily comes to carrion. The findings were that of 29 diagnosable lamb deaths in northwest Queensland, only 34.5% were due to eagle attacks. The wedge-tailed eagle is at times capable of taking very substantial livestock animals, lambs taken have been estimated to weigh a mean of or up to while fully grown sheep weighing some are infrequently vulnerable, presumably in large part to hunting pairs of eagles. In the largest study of the Canberra area, 82.5% of diagnosable sheep specimens were adults but probably were by and large scavenged. Meanwhile, young pigs included in the diet were estimated to weigh around , and sometimes feral piglets are included in the diet. When attacking lambs, the wedge-tailed eagles are apparently capable of driving their talons into the skull of the victim, although more typically they land along the back and grip the lamb along the spine until it weakens and collapses while flapping the wings for balance. This species will also land between a ewe or female pig and their respective lambs or piglets in order to separate the latter for attack. Wedge-tailed eagles are also known to at times prey on another animal introduced for human hunting purposes, the red fox ("Vulpes vulpes"), which can form up to about 4% of an eagle's breeding diet and 5% of the biomass, weighing up to . In Canberra, about 59% of the foxes found in the diet were adults. Additionally, feral cats, mainly juveniles, can be part of their prey.


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: The primary native prey of wedge-tailed eagles is presumably marsupials, particularly macropods, which also lines up with studies where rabbits have declined or never occurred. Many wallabies, kangaroos and associated animals are included in the diet, with over 50 marsupials known in the species’ prey spectrum. When selecting marsupials, wedge-tailed eagles tend to ignore smaller species and focus on larger sized ones. However, they generally most often take alive the young, small and sickly of large macropod marsupials. Findings were that juvenile macropods were taken out of proportion to their numbers in the environment, unlike rabbits which were taken roughly in proportion to their abundance. Also they in recent times have regularly been known to come marsupials such as kangaroos that are roadkills (and are known to come introduced rabbits and foxes and livestock animals killed by cars as well). There is little evidence that macropods delivered to nests are usually roadkills or from carrion, the source of prey is difficult to determine because examinations are usually done after breeding is complete to minimize disturbance. Also attendance at carrion by wedge-tailed eagles is disproportionately done by juvenile eagles. In one study of roadkills in Australia, the species ranked around 4th by frequency and capacity for carcass breakdown of scavengers at roadkills, behind feral pigs, red foxes and ravens. A video surveillance study at the nest determined that seemingly freshly killed, albeit usually quite young macropods were delivered to nests near Broken Hill. As much as 20% to 30% of the diet can be made up of by macropods. Large and prominent species are known including the grey kangaroos and the red kangaroo ("Osphranter rufus"). Generally, juveniles are targeted of these large species with eastern grey kangaroos ("Macropus giganteus") estimated to weigh when taken by wedge-tailed eagles, in Australian Capital Territory and New South Wales, while the weight of young western grey kangaroos ("Macropus fuliginosus") was said to be in one study in Western Australia. The estimated weight of juvenile red kangaroos taken was in northwestern Queensland where they were the primary prey species ahead of lambs. However, wedge-tailed eagles do not shy away from attacking large, adult macropods. They've been recorded attacking eastern grey kangaroos weighing over . In one case, a huge male eastern grey kangaroo, estimated to stand was successfully dispatched by a pair of wedge-tailed eagles. Furthermore, an adult female western grey kangaroo was witnessed to be killed “in a few minutes” by a hunting pair of wedge-tailed eagles and the eagles are considered a serious predator of the western grey. Similarly large adult macropods killed by these eagles can include common wallaroos ("Osphranter robustus") (mean adult weight around ), antilopine kangaroo ("Osphranter antilopinus") (mean adult weight around ), agile wallaby ("Notamacropus agilis") (median adult weight around ), black-striped wallaby ("Notamacropus dorsalis") (median adult weight around ), red-necked wallaby ("Notamacropus rufogriseus") estimated to weigh around when taken, swamp wallaby ("Wallabia bicolor") (mean adult weight around ), and even red kangaroo adults. In some unusual cases, wedge-tailed eagle hunting parties can form whilst hunting red kangaroos, sometimes including up to 15 eagles (more loose, opportunistic aggregations than well-organized groups), but usually only a pair is sufficient to kill such prey. Normally, the eagles repeatedly attack the kangaroo, sinking their talons into the back or nape and then fly up, when the second eagle starts doing the same. In some cases as many as 123 attacks have been carried out against large kangaroo before they succumb. When attacking joeys, eagles in some cases may have intentionally gotten a mother kangaroo to dislodge its joey from its pouch in order to capture and fly off with the joey. In extreme cases, wedge-tailed eagles have killed kangaroos weighing approximately .


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: In addition, several smaller and more elusive macropods are taken including tree-kangaroos, hare-wallabies, nail-tail wallabies, rock-wallabies, dorcopsises and pademelons. Other marsupials are by no means neglected. In Shark Bay, hare-wallabies and bettongs seem to form the central part of the diet. Another dietary favorite is the common brushtail possum ("Trichosurus vulpecula"), weighing some , which was important supplemental prey in the Perth area and was the primary prey species on Kangaroo Island, at 33% of the diet there. Around Perth, other small, nocturnal marsupials were taken in some numbers including woylies ("Bettongia penicillata") and southern brown bandicoots ("Isoodon obesulus"). The common ringtail possum ("Pseudocheirus peregrinus") was the second most prominent prey species in the diet near Melbourne, composing 20.1% of the diet, with some numbers of common brushtails also taken there. Long-nosed bandicoots ("Perameles nasuta") were regular supplemental prey in northeastern New South Wales. Other notable marsupials known to fall prey to wedge-tailed eagles include adults of the following: koalas ("Phascolarctos cinereus"), quokkas ("Setonix brachyurus"), eastern ("Dasyurus viverrinus"), western ("Dasyurus geoffroii") and tiger quolls ("Dasyurus maculatus"), Tasmanian devils ("Sarcophilus harrisii"), bilbies, numbats ("Myrmecobius fasciatus"), common wombats ("Vombatus ursinus"), southern greater gliders ("Petauroides volans") and potoroos.


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: With relative infrequency, other classes of mammals, beyond leporids and marsupials, may be taken opportunistically by wedge-tailed eagles. At least two species each of flying foxes and wattled bats are included in the prey spectrum. Occasionally, an eagle may take a monotreme including both the platypus ("Ornithorhynchus anatinus") and the short-beaked echidna ("Tachyglossus aculeatus"). Several species of rat are readily taken and even the house mouse ("Mus musculus"), likely the smallest mammalian prey known for wedge-tailed eagles at around in weight. Although rare, a dingo ("Canis lupus dingo") may taken by a wedge-tailed eagle at times, mostly pups, or carrion but sometimes a pair of eagles can kill adults too. Beyond sheep, pigs and infrequently young goats ("Capra hircus"), other ungulate prey, entirely introduced by man into the Australasian region, is eaten exclusively as carrion so far as is known, including cattle ("Bos primigenius taurus") (despite claims that these eagles have killed young calves, which is possible, they've only ever been witnessed feeding on afterbirths and not harming calves), Javan rusa ("Rusa timorensis") in New Guinea and sambar deer (Rusa unicolor) in northern Victoria and swamp buffalo ("Bubalus bubalis") in the Northern Territory. In one instance, a young girl was apparently subject to a brief attack by a wedge-tailed eagle, in what was likely an attempted act of predation, near her rural home but the attack was abandoned by the eagle. It has been noted that some different species of large eagles are thought to occasionally attack children as prey, though among extant species only the crowned eagle and martial eagle, both in Africa, are thought to have successfully carried out rare acts of predation on human children.


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: Birds take a clearly secondary position to mammals when importance and especially prey weight are concerned, however the wedge-tailed eagle has some fondness clearly for avian prey. With more than 100 prey species included in the prey spectrum, birds are the most diverse class of prey taken by these eagles. Generally, the predation of birds seems to be highly opportunistic and no one type of bird reliably dominates the eagle's diet. However certain species, probably due to their commonality in eagle territories and perhaps vulnerability through their own behaviour that seem to be taken most often. These consist of "Corvus" species, especially little ("Corvus mellori") and Australian ravens ("Corvus coronoides"), weighing a mean between species of around when taken, Australian magpies ("Gymnorhina tibicen"), Australian wood duck ("Chenonetta jubata"), galah ("Eolophus roseicapilla"), larger cockatoos and smaller parakeets and parrots. On Kangaroo Island, Australian and little ravens together constituted 19% of the diet. In Canberra, fairly prominent numbers of magpies, wood ducks, galahs and eastern ("Platycercus eximius") and crimson rosellas ("Platycercus elegans") are known to be taken, these collectively forming up to about 25% of the diet by number. In the Perth region, birds were taken amply, especially the Australian raven at 12.6% of prey remains and 4.7% of the biomass, with birds constituting just shy of 25% of the diet. Elsewhere in Western Australia, a similar percentage of the diet is made up of by birds, mostly the same species with some number of Australian ringnecks ("Barnardius zonarius") and Baudin's black cockatoos ("Zanda baudinii") as well. Peculiarly, one study found that among a large sample of 1826 prey items in the Northern Territory that the most often identified prey species was the tiny budgerigar ("Melopsittacus undulatus"), at one of the smallest avian prey species for this eagle. In a single study from the Fleurieu Peninsula, birds were the majority of prey for wedge-tailed eagles, at 62.5%, mostly "Corvus" followed by wood duck, galah and magpies. Other assorted avian prey include several species of waterfowl, including several ducks as well as swans and geese, and a fairly strong frequency of attacks on large rails, such as swamphens, moorhens, native-hens and coots.


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: Additionally, wedge-tailed eagles may take Australian brush turkeys ("Alectura lathami") and malleefowl ("Leipoa ocellata"), quail, pigeons and doves, frogmouths and owlet-nightjars, cuckoos, buttonquails, stilts, lapwings, plains-wanderers ("Pedionomus torquatus"), thick-knees, gulls, petrels, cormorants, herons, ibises and spoonbills, cranes, other birds of prey, kingfishers, honeyeaters, quail-thrushes, whistlers, monarch flycatchers, mudnesters, artamids, true thrushes, grass warblers, starlings and pipits. The smallest avian prey attributed to wedge-tailed eagles is the zebra finch ("Taeniopygia guttata"). Particularly large birds are sometimes taken of a few species. When it comes to the emu ("Dromaius novaehollandiae"), Australia's tallest and second heaviest bird, wedge-tailed eagles normally attack the small young but are capable of attacking adult emus more than 10 times their own weight. Two estimates estimated the typical body mass of emus attacked were merely , respectively, against an average of for adult emu. As much as 4% of the diet of wedge-tailed eagles can consist of emu chicks. Some Australia's largest flying birds are also included in the wedge-tailed eagle's prey spectrum. These include the black swan ("Cygnus atratus"), estimated to weigh when taken, black-necked stork ("Ephippiorhynchus asiaticus"), which weighs at least , and brolga ("Antigone rubicunda"), arguably Australia's largest resident flying species of bird at a mean of . An unusually close feeding association with a very large bird is with the Australian bustard ("Ardeotis australis") in northwestern Queensland, where bustards were found to account for 13.4% of the pellet contents and 23% of prey biomass. This study calculated the mean weight of bustards taken as , indicating that the eagles were selectively predating the much larger male bustards.


title: Wedge-tailed eagle

text: When selecting reptiles as prey, wedge-tailed eagles by far are most likely to pursue lizards. The range of lizards they may prey upon is highly diverse in size and nature, with somewhere between 20 and 30 species known in the prey spectrum. The most preferred reptilian prey by far is bearded dragons. Despite the small size of this prey relative to most mammalian prey, they can be key to survivorship in more arid vicinities such as central and western Australia where there is less diverse prey to pick from. In video monitored prey deliveries at Fowlers Gap Arid Zone Research Station, central bearded dragons ("Pogona vitticeps") dominated the prey composition, making up 68.2% of 110 prey deliveries and the only known instance of reptiles forming the bulk of wedge-tailed eagles diets. A different study from prey remains and pellets found the central bearded dragon to comprise 28.6% of the diet among 192 prey items. In south-central Queensland, the bearded dragon was the leading prey species by number, making up 26.9% of 729 prey items. In northeastern New South Wales, the eastern bearded dragon ("Pogona barbata") was the second most numerous prey species behind the rabbit, at 16.6% of the diet. The bearded dragons when taken by wedge-tailed eagles have had an estimated body mass ranging from . They also prey on jacky dragons. Larger lizards are readily taken as well given the opportunity. Skinks are occasional supplemental prey, common blue-tongued skink ("Tiliqua scincoides") at around can make up around 5% of the diet (in northeast New South Wales), while the Centralian blue-tongued skink ("Tiliqua multifasciata") was quite prominent in the diet in the Northern Territory. In Western Australia, shingleback skink ("Tiliqua rugosa") and somewhat smaller western blue-tongued skink ("Tiliqua occipitalis") collectively comprised about 7.5% of the diet. Much bigger lizards are sometimes taken, namely monitor lizards. Around 20% of the 231 prey items of in a Western Australian study was found to be monitor lizards, mostly yellow-spotted monitors ("Varanus panoptes") with some sand goannas ("Varanus gouldii"). Adult rosenberg's monitors ("Varanus rosenbergi"), weighing around can be also taken. Even lace monitors ("Varanus varius"), which weighs on average adults, can sometimes taken by wedge-tailed eagles. Contrarily, lizards down to the size of a pygmy spiny-tailed skink ("Egernia depressa") and a thorny devil ("Moloch horridus") may be taken.