Harpy Eagle, Powerful & Majestic

The Harpy Eagle is the largest eagle in the Americas and one of the largest and most powerful birds of prey in the world. With their unusual crest of head feathers, they resemble Harpies, the half woman, half vulture creatures of ancient Greek mythology.

Along with hawks and kites, the Harpy Eagle is a member of the Family Accipitridae.  The group comprises a very wide variety of species that live in nearly all habitat types and continents.

Harpy Eagle

Harpia harpyja

Physical Description

Female Harpies are often twice as large as males and can grow up to 1 metre (3.3 ft.) tall, have wingspans up to 2.5 metres (8.2 ft.), and may weigh 9 kilos (20 lbs.). Their legs are as thick as the wrist of a small child and armed with talons longer than the claws of the massive brown bear (Ursus arctos).  (Editor's note: The Guyana Zoo has several Harpies you can see up close. These are the most incredible birds I've ever seen and must be seen to be believed! They are truly beautiful and awe-inspiring.)

Talons of (left > right): Harpy Eagle, Golden Eagle, Bald Eagle, 
Great Horned Owl, Red-tailed Hawk, & Peregrine Falcon

(Photo source: Gary Ritchison, Eastern Kentucky University; http://www.biology.eku.edu/RITCHISO/birddigestion.html)

Habitat

Harpy Eagles live in scattered virgin forests, far from human habitation, through much of Central and South America. They nest about 40 metres (131 ft.) up in massive silk-cotton trees, and like many other eagles, use sticks for nesting material.

Diet

These massive hunters search the canopies of undisturbed lowland tropical rain forest looking for their usual prey of sloths and monkeys (see sloths and primates in the online mammal guide) or other large arboreal animals. They have enhanced hearing and acute vision; they can spot a 2 centimetre object from 200 metres (219 yds.) away. However, their sense of taste and smell are poorly developed.

Family Life

Harpy Eagles mate for life and produce offspring every 2-3 years. Both parents incubate the one or two eggs; although in a pair, only the first chick survives. Both parents feed the eaglet for about six months, while the male does the majority of hunting.

Female Harpy & Juvenile

Status in the Wild

These majestic birds are threatened particularly by habitat fragmentation and degradation. Many people also kill Harpy Eagles when the raptors threaten or attack domestic animals. They are more often seen in the Kanuku* and Iwokrama Mountains, and populations in Guyana are apparently healthy because of the vast expanses of untouched tropical forests that they use as hunting grounds.

As of 11th November 2004:

• Listed as Appendix I by the Convention of International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) - threatened with extinction.
• Listed as Lower Risk - near threatened by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List - does not qualify for Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable now, but has a relatively lower risk of qualifying for a threatened category in the near future.

Recent Sightings in Iwokrama Forest

As spider monkeys comb the Cork Wood area in search for food so does this giant predator. Ranger David Scipio reported the last two sightings of the Harpy Eagle: on 18th August 2004 near Cork Wood Ranger Station at 10:30am, and 21st August 2004 opposite the Cock of the Rock Trail at about 7:30am.  Both of these areas are easily accessible to those who Visit Iwokrama.

* The Kanuku Mountains are located in southwestern Guyana. Because of the relative abundance of Harpy Eagles in the Kanuku mountains, this area has been proposed as a site for one of Guyana's future National Parks.

Text courtesy of Calvin Bernard, Guyana Nature Foundation; edits and updates by Iwokrama.