An unconventional bald eagle family has recently became an internet sensation. And the reason have baffled not only the netizens, but the bird experts, as well. Known as a monogamous species (they regularly chose a lifetime mate), these three eagles in Illinois decided to raise their babies together, as a family.
Two bald eagle males and one female are raising three eaglets in their now very famous nest along the Upper Mississippi River near Fulton. Despite the bald eagles’ tendency to mate for life, this isn’t the first time when a rare event like this occurs. The first bald eagle nesting trio was spotted in 1992 in California.
Even so, it’s almost impossible for the bird experts to explain the extremely rare occurrence. “Like their relationship, their history is complicated,” the blog of Bird Watcher’s Digest reads. “The three parents share incubation responsibilities for the eggs — three this year — as they have in previous years.”
Bald Eagle Trio Paired for Life? A nesting trio is a rare occurrence among bald eagles, but this is not the first such case. A bald eagle nesting trios was documented in California in 1992. https://t.co/dB0fTp2hkZ pic.twitter.com/HnXZboY1pu
— Tuleyome (@tuleyomeorg) March 10, 2019
As about the parenting duties, they’re equally shared among the three parents. “They all share parenting duties,” reporter Ally Hirschlag, who wrote about the birds for the National Audubon Society conservation group, said. “They all feed the babies. They all sit on the nest. They guard the babies. They take turns. It’s actually very civilized.”
According to the Stewards of the Upper Mississippi River Refuge, a nonprofit organization who supervise the unusual bird family and provides a livestream of them, the trio has been seen together since 2018. Watch the fascinating story, bellow!