Bataleur and Tawny… err Steppe Eagle

If you see an eagle like this in Northern Tanzania and call it a Tawny Eagle you’ll be right most of the time. They do have a cousin from the north called a Steppe Eagle which has an amazing gape. The mouth extends nearly level with the back of the eye. So now that I take a closer look at this image I think it is a Steppe… but I’m open to advice on the matter.

They certainly are impressive. This one was keeping company with a juvenile bird of another species…

a young Bataleur, a strangely shaped yet supremely talented thermal rider.

They have hardly a tail to speak of but don’t seem hampered in the least. Great birds.