Revealing Illinois' giant birds of '77

[Lone Wolf]

There were no underbelly markings. The wings were bulky looking. Not particularly graceful in flight. Almost mechanical looking? I could not see the head and the tail seemed stunted to the point of almost being non existant. (could have been the angle as I was seeing it from behind?) It just looked sort of strange. I checked online to see if it was a golden eagle. Although the color is similar, the pictures of the golden eagle in flight didn't seem to match what I saw. The pics of the eagle when gliding showed the tips of it's wings sort of extending outward and slightly up. The bird I saw didn't do that. I also think the bird I saw had a bigger wigspan.

[Desertbird]

Maybe, but estimating wingspan is very hard to do accurately when the bird is in flight.  I've been working with birds of prey for years and I still have a lot of trouble estimating wingspan, I usually say it's higher than what it really is.  That's the strange thing about birds of prey, they seem look bigger than what they really are from a distance and smaller when looked at from tv or a photo.

Well, keep your eyes open for it again.  If you ever get a photo, I'd be happy to look at it for you. :big grin:

[Lone Wolf]

I'm sure you are right about wingspan. Guess it's hard to tell. I don't know that I'll ever see it again, but if I do, I'll let you know :)