Age

• Baby eagles begin learning to fly--a process referred to as fledging-- when they are only two to three months old, though eagles who don't share a nest with other litter mates can start learning earlier. Usually this process takes a couple of months. During the learning process, many of the eagles fall to the ground, and some are hurt and even die. Eagle parents will often continue to feed and care for baby eagles that have fallen to the ground until the babies learn. By four to six months, all young eagles should be flying unsupervised. While the eagles will stay close to the nest while they are learning to fly, once they've mastered the process, they will fly far and wide, and most won't remain near the area of their birth.
  
  

How Eagles Learn

• Baby eagles learn to fly primarily by observing their parents. To encourage young eagles who don't show an interest in fledging, the parents sometimes fly around the outside of the nest with a choice piece of food in their claws. Such gentle coaxing goes against the popular myth that eagles push their young right out of the nest in a "sink or swim" flying lesson.
  While food is a great motivator, the young eagles are curious about the world and like to imitate their parents. By perching on a nearby limb with a choice meal, the eagle parents are encouraging their young one's sense of curiosity--and its appetite--until the young eagle begins to leave the safe environment of the nest on its own accord.
  
  

Eagles in Captivity

• Young eagles that have been rescued don't have their parents around to teach them how to fly, so they must learn to fly and to hunt by trial and error. Their caretakers provide enough food so eagles in captivity don't starve, but birds in captivity eventually ignore the offerings and learn on their own how to forage and hunt for food.