Photo and caption by Warren Irwin

The austere, even sinister, appearance of these two Wedge-tailed Eagles (Aquila audax) is enhanced by back-lighting provided by the early sunrise. The grip of their talons on the branches of a dead tree is perhaps a metaphor for the death they deliver daily. A truly magnificent creature. Opalton is a semi-arid area of the Queensland Outback where the challenges to survival are extreme and demanding. A Tasmanian specimen shot and measured in 1931, had a world record wingspan of 2.84m (Wikipedia). The usual maximum wingspan is about 2.3m and females weigh in at just under 6kg.

Location: Opalton, outback Queensland, Australia.