Birds and Birding's Guide to:

Watching THE FALCON-LIKE BIRDS

THE KITES, BUZZARDS, EAGLES, HAWKS, AND ALLIES

Harpy Eagle Description

The Harpy Eagle (Thrasaetus harpyia) is at once one of the most magnificent and powerful of the birds of prey known, haying a length of some forty inches and a spread of wing of about seven feet, and its abundant power of flight and voracious nature make it a terror among the birds and mammals where it dwells.

Its legs and feet are nearly twice as large and strong as those of any other bird of prey. The prevailing color of the upper parts, including the chest, is black, more or less mottled with gray, while the head and neck are gray, darker on the crest, and the under parts pure white, with the thighs narrowly barred with black, and the tail broadly barred with black and mottled with ashy.

The young are ashy gray and black above, with the head, neck, and lower parts white. This species is found in tropical America, ranging south to Bolivia and Paraguay and north to Mexico, rarely extending so far as the mouth of the Rio Grande, thus giving it claim to be called a native of the United States.

It frequents the dense forests, where, according to Dr. Oswald, it makes its way with almost incredible swiftness, and”can overtake the swiftest birds of the tropical woods, and in spite of its size steers its way through the labyrinth of forest trees and hanging vines, and rarely fails to rise with a 'Pheasant,' a Woodcock, or a small mammal in its claws, after plunging like a meteor from the clouds into the leafy maze of the tierra caliente.”

The nesting site commonly chosen is a tall tree of the jungle, or a ledge among the more inaccessible cliffs of the foot-hills, where they build a large structure which is repaired and used from year to year. It is said that the Harpy lays four or five eggs, but never hatches more than two, the remaining eggs according to the native Indians being used to feed the first two Eaglets that hatch. This should perhaps be taken with some allowance, for as a matter of fact the nesting habits are none too well known.

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