September 2004
The American Harpy Eagle
Order
Family
Genus and Species
Falconiformes
Accipitridae
Harpia harpyja
Found in Central and South America, the
Harpy Eagle is the largest and strongest of
all eagles. They are found in tropical rainforests and spends
much of its time nesting
in tall trees.....waiting and watching for its next meal to scurry
into the open.
Harpy's have a wide hunting territory which sometimes covers over
20 square miles
and hunt anything from small mammals, reptiles and rodents to other
birds. Their very
powerful feet and razor sharp talons and
beak make them formidable predators and
even monkeys and sloths, resting in trees, are not safe from this large,
swift, eagle.
Harpys are named after a half -woman, half-bird
predator which were told about in
ancient greek mythology. These harpies were loathsome, voracious
monsters with the
head and trunk of a woman and the tail, wings, and talons of a bird.
.
The Harpy is a solitary bird, and aside
from breeding, it hunts, nests and leads a fairly
sedentary lifestyle. The male will nest near the female as
she tends to unhatched eggs
or newborn chicks but will not share the same
nest or even the same tree. The male is
the more aggressive of the species although the female is usually the
larger of the two.
The largest harpy eagle on record is a 29 pound female.
These eagles average around 12-15 lbs
and have a length of from 3 to 3 1/2 feet. They have
a wingspan of over 7 feet and reach sexual
maturity in around 5 years. The female
lays
from 1 to 2 eggs with the incubation period being around 2 months in
length. Harpys breed
every 3 years with the breeding season occurring at varying lengths
and times of the year,
depending on the environment of the particular harpy. These giant
birds have a lifespan of
around 30 years in the wild and slightly
longer in captivity.
The large, extremely sharp beak of the harpy ( shown above) is used
much as a butcher
might use a knife, to strip or cut
pieces of flesh from its victims. The prey is held down
by the powerful talons of the harpy while it uses its beak to rip it
apart.
Prey is located by the keen sense of sight and
hearing of the harpy. The tuft of feathers
around the head of the harpy funnels sounds into its ears....magnifying
and helping the eagle
to home in on the creature making the sound.
The incredibly strong wings provide tremendous
lift when the harpy takes flight. These wings
provide more than enough lift for the harpy to carry off prey which
weighs as much as it does.
Harpys attain speeds of over 50 mph as
they swoop down from their perches in trees to grab
some unsuspecting animal or reptile.
Above is a young harpy perched in a tree. Birds this age are being
taught to hunt and to fend
for itself. In another 2 or 3 months this
youngster will be on his own....ready to stake his claim
to a part of the rain forest and to eventually hunt for a suitable
mate with which to start his own
family. This is the way of nature for every species of creature
throughout the world as it has
been for untold centuries.
These magnificent eagles are considered endangered
and numerous conservation agencies are
working to alleviate the problems which have caused a lessening of
the numbers of harpys in the
last couple of decades. Large areas of the rain forests of Central
and South America have been
cleared for human development and for the valuable trees located there.
Vast replanting projects
are underway and hopefully, within a few years the number of harpy
eagles will dramatically be
on the increase.
Press play below, to hear Harpy Eagle sounds.