Harpy Eagles

Harpy Eagles (Harpia harpyja) Location= southern Mexico through Central and South America all the

way down to northern Argentina Habitat= rain forests with silk-cotton trees that provide nesting space Lifespan= 25-35 years Wingspan= Up to 6-1/2 feet Body length= 3 to 3-1/2 feet Weight= 9-20 pounds Talons= 5 inches long (the same size as a grizzly bear’s claws) Diet= sloths, monkeys, and other rain forest canopy mammals Courtship/Mating strategies= Harpy eagles mate for life; Rettig (1978)

witnessed nine copulations, in the nest tree, between a pair of adult Harpy Eagle, but did not observe any sign of a courtship display prior to copulation

Clutch size= clutch size is two, sometimes three. Regardless, in all or almost all cases only a single young is raised; The second egg acts as an insurance policy just in case there is something wrong with the first egg

Incubation period= around 55 days Altricial/precocial= Altricial Parenting habits=Though the male may assist in incubation, the female

does the most sitting on the eggs; From the time the female first lays her eggs until the nestling is about 4 months old, she will spend almost all her time at the nest. Meanwhile, the male spends his time and energy looking for food for himself, the female, and his young; 5-6 months of age

Nesting habits= They pick the highest point on the trunks of these trees, just where the branches begin to spread out, at around 130 feet high; nests are composed of large sticks and branches gathered from nearby trees; nest that can be 6 feet in diameter and more than 1 foot deep

Reproduction continued= the young eagle will fledge, or fly for the first time; The young bird will remain dependent on the adults for the first

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one to two years of life; When a young bird turns 4 or 5 years old, it

will begin looking for a partner Population= Near Threatened; 50,000 individuals; declining moderately

rapidly due to hunting and habitat loss. Migratory patterns= They do not migrate Calls/Sounds=they wail (wheee, wheee-ooooo), croak, whistle, click, and

mew.

https://www.avosound.com/en/soundeffects/bbc-nature-sound-effects-

library/birds/harpy-eagle-(harpia-harpyja)/ http://www.planetofbirds.com/accipitriformes-accipitridae-harpy-eagle- harpia-harpyja

Facts

1. The harpy may not be the largest bird of prey (that title belongs to the Andean condor), but this extraordinary creature is definitely the heaviest and most powerful of birds.  
2. You will never see a harpy eagle soaring over the top of a rain forest. Instead, the powerful harpy flies below the forest canopy and uses its great talons to snatch up monkeys and sloths that can weigh up to 17 pounds  
3. A harpy is capable, in a serious chase, of reaching speeds of 50 miles per hour  
4. It can attack prey from below as well as above  
5. It has excellent vision and can see something less than 1 inch in size  from almost 220 yards away.  
6. The deadly talons of a harpy eagle can exert several hundred pounds  of pressure, crushing the bones of its prey and instantly killing its victim.  
7. A female can weigh up to two times more than her mate.  
8. The larger females tend to take sloths and monkeys; the smaller, more  agile and faster males tend to take more quantities of smaller food items.  

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