What is the largest bird of prey in Australia?

The wedge-tailed eagle is the largest bird of prey in Australia.

Its long, wedge-shaped tail gives the species its common name. Adult birds are usually dark brown to blackish, with broad wings suited to soaring over Australia’s open forests, grasslands and deserts. The species occurs across mainland Australia and also on Tasmania and New Guinea.

Wedge-tailed eagles hunt rabbits, mammals, reptiles and birds, and they also eat carrion. Their powerful talons allow them to kill sizeable prey, although scavenging is an important part of their ecology. Pairs generally maintain large territories and may reuse a substantial stick nest for many years.

The species is sometimes confused with Australia’s white-bellied sea eagle, but that eagle is smaller and has a conspicuously white head and underparts. ‘Largest’ here refers to Australia’s native raptor, not the world’s largest flying bird overall.