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Bald Eagles' Daredevil Cartwheel Flight
A dramatic and dangerous approach to courtship.
© Alex McInnis
Two eagles locking talons high above the ground might look like they’re risking injury, but it’s a normal courtship behavior called the “cartwheel display.” Fully entangled, the two birds begin spinning to the earth, disengaging just before they smack the ground. Their clasp could last for hours. At last, the eagles unlock talons and fly off. Rival adults sometimes perform the same flight.
BirdNote®
Bald Eagles’ Daredevil Cartwheel Flight
Written by Bob Sundstrom
This is BirdNote.
[Bald Eagles calling, https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/200943, 0.17-0.24]
Two adult eagles flying high above the ground confront each other, talons outstretched — then suddenly lock onto each other’s talons.
[Bald Eagles calling, https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/200943, 0.04-0.07]
Gravity takes over, and the pair — still fully entangled, wings flailing — begin to cartwheel to earth. Just before they smack the ground, they disengage and begin to fly upward.
This “cartwheel display” of courting Bald Eagles is thrilling, both highly acrobatic and downright hazardous. Once in a while, the two birds fail to release their talons and reach the earth, still fully in each other’s iron grasp. Rival adults competing for mates or territory sometimes perform the same wild flight.
[Bald Eagles calling, https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/200943, 1.21-1.23]
And neither seems in a hurry to let go—their clasp could last for hours. At last, the eagles unlock talons and fly off — back into the sky where they could, perhaps, meet again for another dramatic bout of cartwheeling.
[Bald Eagles calling, https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/200943, 1.21-1.23]
For BirdNote, I’m Mary McCann.
[Bald Eagles calling, https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/200943, 0.17-0.24]
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Senior Producer: John Kessler
Production Manager: Allison Wilson
Producer: Mark Bramhill
Associate Producer: Ellen Blackstone
Digital Producer: Conor Gearin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. Bald Eagle ML 200943 recorded by G. Vyn.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2021 BirdNote July 2021/2023 Narrator: Mary McCann
ID# BAEA-09-2021-7-30 BAEA-09
References:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.livescience.com/amp/55278-animal-sex-b…
https://www.pennlive.com/wildaboutpa/2018/03/bald_eagles_with_locked_ta…
Bob Sundstrom
Writer
Mary McCann
NarratorSights & Sounds
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