“April 4, 2010 picture provided by Bob Benda, a bird rescuer and biology professor at Prince William Sound Community College, shows a female eagle who fell into the snow in Valdez, Alaska.”

“An acrobatic display of passion proved too much for a pair of eagles engaged in a mating dance in Alaska’s Prince William Sound. The surviving female bird is recovering from injuries sustained when the winged couple slammed beak first into a hard snowbank in what her rescuers believe was an aerial courting ritual gone awry.”

The male died in the impact.

(AP Photo/Bob Benda)