Harpy eagle distribution, ecology, threats and classification

What makes the harpy eagle “the most powerful raptor”?

What threatens the gorgeous creature?

Does it fool its victim with its gorgeous and graceful appearance?

Does the fact that this hawk is cruel justify its biology?

If you want to learn more about this amazing creature, then read the below article to satisfy your curiosity!

Harpy eagle

Scientific name: Harpia harpyja

Classification:

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Accipitriformes

Family: Accipitridae

Subfamily: Harpiinae

Genus: Harpia

Species: Harpia

Introduction.

As the name implies, the harpy eagle is one of the most formidable birds of prey, the most powerful raptor. It’s also known as the royal hawk. Carolus Linnaeus described the harpy Eagle as vulture harpyja in “systema naturae” in 1758. It is a mythical figure, but few people have ever seen an eagle in its place. These large birds, named after Greek mythology, were beasts, “frightening flying creatures with hook and gossip beaks.” 

This dark gray bird has a very distinct appearance, with feathers on its head that turn into a solid sky when the bird feels threatened. Some small gray feathers form a facial disc that can direct sound waves to improve the bird’s hearing, such as that of owls. It has dark grey feathers on top and practically white feathers on the bottom. The grey head and white belly are separated by a particularly broad black stripe. The tail is black with three grey bands on top and three white bands on the bottom, and the beak is grey with yellow tarsi and toes.

Like most eagles, the female “harp” is two times as large as a male. Females weigh 13-19 lbs, while males are 8-13 lbs in weight. It can be as much as 2.8-3.5 feet long and as wide as a human’s height, if not more. Talons can grow to be 4-5 inches long. The legs of the harpy eagle can be as thick as a baby’s wrist, the hind limbs are larger than the 12-inch [13 cm] cobra! This bird may not be the biggest bird of prey (the name is the Andean eagle), but this amazing creature is the substantial and most dominant of all birds.

When not incubating or transporting food to the nest, it is a quiet raptor, although it generates varied sounds such as crying (wheee, wheee-ooooo), croaking, whistling, clicking, and mewing. Their nestlings are louder than adults.^[1]Harpy eagle – Wikipedia

Ecological importance of Harpy eagle

Harpy Eagles, like wild animals, play a vital part in their communities. They are well-known as umbrellas. Just as many people can be protected from the elements by standing under a large umbrella, so many wild animals can be protected by keeping a single species, such as the Harpy Eagle.

They are regarded as the ecosystem’s indicator species since their presence ensures that all other species remain in balance.  They manage the population of various animals, which might erupt if harpies do not prey on them. Furthermore, harpy eagles aid in the dispersal of tree seeds, particularly those on which they nest when they perch and soar for hunting.

This eagle lives amongst jaguars, macaws, tapirs, monkeys, sloths, snakes, frogs, and many other animals and plants, each performing an imperative role in its environment. ^[2]https://bioone.org/journals/journal-of-raptor-research/volume-48/issue-1/JRR-13-00017.1/Food-Habits-of-the-Harpy-Eagle-a-Top-Predator-from/10.3356/JRR-13-00017.1.full 

Distribution status

Since ancient times, Harpy Eagles have been found from southern Mexico to Central and South America and northern Argentina. Unfortunately, Harpy Eagles get lost a lot because people are terminating their territory by bombarding them.

In Central America, a large number of known fertility groups are found in Panama, near the Colombian border. These eagles are likely to disappear in El Salvador. The only page in the slot was found in Belize.

This Eagle is a rainforest species. It survives at low altitudes where it can catch prey and has large trees for nesting. The rainforest home is lavish and energetic and covers the highest biodiversity in the world.

Nesting

Harpies construct their nests 90-140 feet up in tall trees such as nut trees, cambara trees, and silk-cotton trees (kapok trees). Harpies create a warm and comfy nest by framing it with huge sticks and filling it with softer greens, seedpods, and animal hair. The fragrance of green twigs keeps the nest cool and insect-free. It builds nests the size of a bed and stays in the nest with their sole partner for a lifetime as they are not migratory. A harpy nest may be 4 feet thick and 5 feet broad, large enough to sleep down on. Harpies may reuse and reconstruct their nests several times.

Predation

Diet

The Harpy Eagle is a diurnal bird and a formidable predator that preys on 19 different kinds of tree dwelling animals such as monkeys, sloths, opossums, porcupines, juvenile deer, snakes, and even iguanas. In addition to these species, the harpy eagle can feed on cattle belonging to people living close their domain. Actuallly, It feeds on anything meaty.

  Being in a harpy’s domain is bad luck for monkeys and tree sloths since the harpy prefers them. Its predator-prey interaction with monkeys improves their intelligence, since monkeys are among the wisest mammals.

Flight

It conserves energy by hunting beneath the forest canopy rather than soaring above it. Because of its broader and shorter wing shape and long tail, the harpy eagle may attack its prey from both above and below. It is capable of reaching speeds of up to 50 miles per hour.

Sight

To obtain a better view at its prey, it flips its head upside down. It possesses exceptional visual and hearing abilities, which contribute to its status as a perfect raptor. It has such keen vision that it can see objects as tiny as 1 inch in size from a distance of 656 feet. It can detect four times the small details that the human eye can.

It features a tube-shaped eye that generates a larger retinal picture. It also possesses a greater number of photoreceptor cells that are more densely packed, allowing the harpy eagle to locate its prey with greater accuracy in the darker canopy. Its eyes are larger in size than its body, and it possesses two foveae, which nearly no other animal has.

Hearing

They have a concave feather disc on their face that directs sound to the eagle’s ears.

Attack

Harpy perches softly while hunting to keep its prey unnoticed. Harpy eagle swoops down on the prey and kills it before it realises what has occurred. Sometimes one of the eagles in the pair distracts the victim while the other attacks it from behind. It captures its prey with its powerful talons, breaking its victim’s bones under immense pressure of over 110 lbs. It is the powerful bird with talons the size of a bear’s claw and are akin to the jaws of a Rottweiler dog.  Its dexterity in finding and capturing prey makes it the unbeatable predator in the air.  

Taking prey back to nest

They can carry their prey as hefty as its body weight in the air that may weigh up to 17 pounds. Heavier prey is flown back to the nest in short trips and devoured partially before arriving. If the prey is large enough, they can consume it for days. Harpy cover its meal with twigs and leaves to keep insects and other arthropods away. Female harpy search for larger prey than male harpy since they are heavier. Males pursue smaller prey due to their tiny size, but they are more nimble.

Reproduction and development

Harpy eagles are monogamous and can mate for life. At the age of 4-5 years, the harpy eagle matures. It then reproduces every 2-3 years. Their mating season begins in April-May, with the commencement of the rainy season. The harpy eagle has the longest breeding season of any raptor. They mate several times during their mating season. They have been spotted rubbing their bills together, which is assumed to be a mating adaption.

  A clutch of 1-2 eggs is laid by a female harpy eagle. The eggs are incubated by both parents, with the female bearing the majority of the responsibility. Incubation can take up to 56 days, and they ferociously guard their eggs and young. The second egg dies due to lack of incubation after the first chick hatches. Two eggs are deposited to ensure that at least one chick hatches.

The chick starts off white and gradually gains colour. The chick can stand and walk after 35 days. When the chick is three years old, it has fully developed an adult appearance. Harpy eagle chicks can fly when they are around five to six months old and have fully developed flight feathers. However, kids are still nutritionally reliant on their parents for a year.

For roughly ten months, both parents feed the chick. Then, by reducing their food supply, drive the junior to subsist on their own. As a result, parents visit their chicks just once every ten days, for example. They demonstrate to be highly nurturing parents. Harpy eagles live for 25-35 years in the wild and much longer in captivity.  

Threats

The harpy eagle has no natural predators because it is at the top of the natural food chain, but its numbers are dropping and they are classified a vulnerable species.

 Deforestation, pollution, logging, and hunting have all had an impact on the population number of the animals that serve as their prey. Their meal has become scarce, and their prey have adapted to hide from such a cunning predator that the harpies must perch for up to 23 hours to prey.

Harpy eagle populations are also dropping as a result of habitat degradation, deforestation, and hunting. People shoot harpy eagles for a variety of reasons, including fear, livestock loss, curiosity, animal protein, and illicit wildlife trading. The species is critically endangered, with only 50 thousand individuals remaining in the wild. By overcoming such issues, harpy eagles can be maintained and preserved.^[3]Inter Research » ESR » v29 » n1 » p69-79 (int-res.com)

Other important facts about Harpy eagle

These eagles are some of the most fascinating birds in the world. They come from Mexico to northern Argentina.

With a wingspan of 6.5 m, harpy eagles are the largest eagles in the Americas and are considered the most powerful birds of prey in the Amazon. You can call them American emperors.

It is the national bird of Panama

Harpy eagles are also known to have nests that are rarely found and hard to find even for skilled locals. This is because their nests are somewhat separate from many rainforests and are carefully hidden in large trees.

They also give birth to only one chicken every two to three years or even one at a time. Eagles with harpy eagles can weigh twice as much as a male.^[4]For foto: http://www.birdphotos.com – Own work, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3785263

Conclusion

Thus, the harpy eagle’s power is due to its biology, namely its incredible size, agility, eyesight, hearing, and talons’ strength. It is at the top of the food chain, with no predators, and its talents demonstrate why it is known as the Royal Hawk. It is absolutely wrong to label the Harpy eagle as cruel because it just hunts to ensure its existence. It is known as the Lord of the Skies.

Written by: Maryam Arshad

Reviewed by:
Dr. Muhammad Tahir Ph.D. (PU)
Post Doctorate
American Museum of Natural History, New York, USA