A bald eagle pair adopts and feeds a young hawk, creating one of nature’s most incredible views. The unusual incident puzzled Canadian bird watchers, as hawks are generally a food source for the giant pray birds. That is, in fact, how the little hawk gained access to the eagle’s nest in the first place.
The young hawk was supposed to be food for the little eaglets, but it has thrived after being adopted by a bald eagle family. It even takes on the appearance of a bald eagle. The red-tailed juvenile hawk now seems to get along swimmingly with its adoptive parents and three eaglets brothers.
“This rates as the strangest thing I’ve ever seen in the world of birds of prey,” David Bird of the Hancock Wildlife Foundation, told the Vancouver Sun. “My guess is that this little hawk begged loud and hard for food – not even thinking about the danger.”
This is rare behavior for a bird of prayer, especially for bald eagles. However, biologists are concerned for the tiny one’s survival as the eaglets grow much larger than their hawk sibling and begin to perceive it as food. “It’s incredible that it’s lived this long,” professor Bird added.
“But the point is, he was considerably smaller, and eagles are usually on the lookout for prey that is weaker than them.”
Nonetheless, bird specialists are optimistic that the eagles will keep the fledgling hawk alive until it is able to fly on its own. However, this may be contingent on a variety of factors, such as food availability or the eagle’s attitude.
So far, so good, since the three-month-old hawk appears to be in excellent condition. Professor Bird said, “The eaglets with whom he was nurtured appear to have accepted him as another sibling, and the parents appear to have adopted him as their young.”
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