Eagle Murphy, 31, Tries to Hatch a Rock; Don’t Feel Bad

Murphy is a 31-year-old bald eagle, flightless due to a wing injury, living the bachelor’s life at the World Bird Sanctuary in Valley Park, Missouri. This spring he began sitting on a rock, as one does, in hopes of hatching it.

As the New York Times tells it, “A usually mild-tempered bird, Murphy gently rotated his rock, less shaped like an egg than a small meteorite, as though to incubate it. He lay in the one spot all day, rising to squawk and charge at the other birds that dared to come near his nest.”

Visitors to the aviary were upset by the sight of the lonely old bird, but the sanctuary noted on Facebook that his behavior was natural: “Although it might make you feel sad that Murphy has built a nest and is nurturing a rock as an egg, it’s just his hormonal response to spring. Murphy is not sad, so you don’t need to be,” adding that “Murphy is not lonely!” since he is housed with four other bald eagles, two males and two females.

In recent weeks, a fifth eagle has arrived: an orphaned eaglet, just a week or two old. This little bird, designated only as “eaglet 23-126,” had survived a fall from a tree in a storm about 60 miles southeast. Sanctuary staff decided to introduce the baby to the (un)expectant parent. “We had no idea how Murphy was going to respond,” said sanctuary chief executive Dawn Griffard.

Murphy was ready. He hovered protectively over the little thing and served up bite-sized food. The sanctuary will have to teach the youngster how to fly and hunt, as that’s beyond Murphy’s skill sets. Eaglet 23-126 will not get a name because that’s considered bad luck for animals that will one day be released in the wild (who knew?).

Until that day, the little bird will have a dad and Murphy will have an adopted child. “You can definitely see the imprinting happening, which is exactly what we wanted,” said Griffard.

Photo credit: World Bird Sanctuary