What is so superior about an eagle?

Eagles are big beautiful bold powerful predators. Other birds are also beautiful in their own ways. But eagles are more captivating than lesser shy birds. Folks generally identify better with an eagle than birds such as a snipe or a Prairie Chicken.

Comparing a Eagle to a Seagull is like comparing an F-22 to a Cessna.

Rarity. There are zillions of gulls, crows, ravens, vultures, etc.

Eagles are comparatively rare, and therefore have special value.

Go visit an eagle in person, and see its size and demeanor, to see.

Or, watch one that is flying into the territory of crows, and watch the crows try to drive it away, while it, several times their size, cruises along unbothered by the attacks, occasionally making them break off if and when it makes a move in their direction.

Nothing. Massively overrated bird.

Atop a peak in the high Sierra, I saw a Golden Eagle catch a wind above a lake, soar ro 12,000 feet, fly over a mountain pass, and then descend to another lake. It was magnificent, and far beyond anything I had ever seen an eagle to before or since.

It could catch and eat monkeys. The formerly named Philippine Monkey Eating Eagle. Now called the Philippine Eagle if i’m not mistaken.

Okay, so it’s big, less common, eats monkeys.
That would make Dwayne Johnson more desirable than Ryan Gosling.
Doesn’t make sense to me.
Why not a Condor then?
“I Want To Fly Like A Condor”

They are majestic.

Nothing. Barely any meat on them.

@rebbel Why not fly like a condor, indeed? Condors are awesome fliers too, though their head aesthetics may not suit some humans, and, they are not predators. In the Star-Trek-based game Star Fleet Battles, the Romulans did name their largest and most formidable ship class the Condor. The California Condor is the state bird of California.

But everyone has their own aesthetics, and their own bird experiences.

Eagles as a traditional choice for state bird goes back at least to Ancient Rome.

Whatever is the singular appeal of the eagle, it certainly goes back a long way, even as far as the Old Testament:

https://lp.israelbiblicalstudies.com/lp_iibs_biblical_hebrew_upon_eagles_wings-en.html?cid=48994&adgroupid=-1&utm_source=Email_Marketing&utm_medium=Upon_eagles_wings&utm_campaign=BIB_EN_EML_Upon_eagles_wings_2017-12-07_48994&stid=5520836&hash=c7060da79966d03192fe794476100bf0&_at=0.3.9613298,0.180635227.zatw3fx3tduhca2sah&_atscid=3_2483_180635227_9613298_0_Tzatw3fx3tduhca2sah

A story I heard that I love is that after the founding of the State of Israel, they were trying to convince Yemeni Jews who were being persecuted to move to Israel. The Jews who were very poor had never seen airplanes but because of the prophecy that they would be taken to the Promised Land “on the wings of eagles” they were willing to board the planes.

Eagles are magnificent birds, and the world’s most powerful raptor is the harpy eagle.

However, I’m more impressed by some members the vulture family.

The world’s highest flying bird is the Ruppell’s griffon vulture, which has been seen in flight at 11,280 meters.

The world’s largest raptor is the Andean condor, which flies above the mountains in the land of my wife’s people. :p
El Condor Pasa is considered by some to be Peru’s second national anthem.

Peregrine falcons have been clocked at 186 MPH.

The Bar-tailed godwit is said to have the aerodynamics of a jet fighter, and has been tracked flying non-stop more than 8,000 miles from Alaska to Australia, setting a world record for continuous avian flight.

So while eagles have some superlative qualities, they’re not alone at the top.

Birds are cool. The eagle no more or less so than other avians. Personally, I am bog fan of the Corvid family, except for blue jays, they’re just bullies.

@rebbel The eagle is Dwayne Johnson’s body with Ryan Gosling’s head.

“Big”. Ugh. Sorry about the typo.

@canidmajor

“Personally, I am bog fan of the Corvid family….”

When it comes to typos, that’s better than being a big fan of the Covid family. ;-)

@Brian1946 Does go better with my “Rima” image, doesn’t it?

@Brian1946 I knew I’d heard how high geese could fly and I thought they were the highest flying birds, having been recorded at 28,000 feet. To be fair, I looked up the Ruppell’s griffon vulture. Guess what?

The two highest-flying bird species on record are the endangered Ruppell’s griffon vulture, which has been spotted flying at 37,000 feet (the same height as a coasting commercial airplane), and the bar-headed goose, which has been seen flying over the Himalayas at heights of nearly 28,000 feet. Your vulture beats my goose. ;o)

Ruppell’s Griffon Vulture at 37000 ft. – “Oh my lord I’m gonna die! That blasted wind current took me too high! Oh, people in that airplane saw me. Calm down. Look poised.”

We have a lot of eagles here. Often the local news locates nests and we get to watch the whole process of baby eagles coming to be. They are lovely creatures. I recently saw a picture of a solid white eagle and it took my breathe away….absolutely beautiful.

@smudges

Well, bar-headed geese do form the highest bird migrations.
I’d love to see a flock of them flying over Lhotse.

^^Yes! I’ve looked out of a plane window and seen another plane that was too close for my comfort, but I’ve never seen a bird when we were cruising. Would love to see that!

@rebbel Now just how would that sound?! The Steve Miller Band singin’ Let me fly like a seagull… to the sea. Fly like a seagull let that spirit carry me…

@smudges

Thanks for introducing me to the “Himalayan” goose. :)

I’ve been to the Himalayas, and I’d love to go back.

This has led me to a fantasy where I camp out on the South Col, between Everest and Lhotse.

After I’ve been there for awhile, a flock of geese heading to a bar ;), stop by my camp for rest and refreshments.

After they’re rested and ready, I get to see them take flight and climb to a height about a half mile above me, where they rejoin the jet stream.

More majestic birds, on land or in flight.

@Brian1946 Cool fantasy! They can fly 1,500 miles in 24 hours. <snort snort> “heading to a bar”!

I’d love to visit Nepal, not only for the Himalayas, but also to get a glimpse of where the Dalai Lama lives. He has said he may be the last Dalai Lama because he may choose not to reincarnate. Shows how much I don’t know – I didn’t know it was a choice.

@smudges The Tibetan Government in exile is in Dharamsala, in India, not Nepal.

@zenvelo That’s right! He had to flee to India. <sigh> I’ll always picture him in Nepal, though. Thanks!

Shoot! It’s Tibet I was trying to think of!

As Gilda says, “Never mind.”