Like in The Lord of the Rings: scientists have described extinct eagles with giant wings

The huge eagles from the Lord of the Rings trilogy by John R. R. Tolkien could be a real prototype: birds of the species Dynatoaetus gaffae. They existed in Australia 700,000 - 50,000 years ago. About it writes live science.

Scientists from Flinders University (Australia) studied previously discovered fossils of these birds, which are still called Gaff's eagles, and came to the conclusion that their wingspan was 3 meters, and the claws reached 30 centimeters. That is, these extinct predators could indeed hunt wild animals, but still they were not so huge that wizards flew at them.

In the films of Peter Jackson on the universe "lord of the rings»eagles were up to 6 meters tall, and their wingspan reached 23 meters, according to Wiki Fandom.

The extinct Gaffs were similar to modern eagles from the genus Spilornis, which are distinguished by large and powerful legs. This allows them to hunt impressive prey, including young pigs and deer. Judging by the discovered fossils, the Australian giant also had the same capabilities.